Cheese & egg crepes

February 9, 2016January 25, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

In my adult life, I don’t think I’ve ever made pancakes on pancake day – mostly due to the fact it always falls on a Tuesday. I can barely drag myself out of bed for work on a Tuesday let alone make pancakes.
That being said, I’m still a human being and human beings love pancakes, so lets make pancakes! Not on pancake day though, lets make them on Sunday like a normal sane person. Being a bit hungover today I can’t be dealing with sweet pancakes, I need something cheesy. Bring on the Leerdammer.

Cheese and egg crepes
Serves 2 / Hands on time 15 mins / Total, time 15 mins + refrigeration / V
60g plain flour
1 medium egg
150ml semi-skimmed milk
Knob of butter
Filling
4 slices Swiss cheese, I used pre sliced Leerdammer
2 eggs
Freshly chopped parsley (optional)

TIP: You can use this recipe to create any savoury crepe you like. Simply flip the pancake and sprinkle with your desired toppings.

Method
1. Mix the flour in a large bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper. In a measuring jug measure out the milk and crack an egg straight into it, whisk until combined.
2. Make a well in the flour and whisk in the egg mixture bit by bit until you have a smooth batter. Refrigerate for 30 mins.
3. Once the batter has chilled, place a large saucepan over a medium to high heat and add a knob of butter. Move the melted butter around the pan until evenly spread.
4. Add a ladle of batter to the centre of the pan and move the mixture until it has evenly spread to the edges. The crepe will cook quickly so be ready to flip it in 1 min.
5. Flip the pancake, turn down the heat and top with 2 slices of cheese and crack an egg in (I used one slice of cheese in the picture but used 2 on my second attempt which tasted better).
6. Fold the pancake in half, being careful not to break the yolk.
7. Fold then pancake over again but this time cover the yolk. Move the pancake around the pan and turn it over carefully occasionally. Do this for 3-5 mins to allow the egg to cook.
8. Turn out onto a plate, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and fresh parsley.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian.

Lizzie special

January 11, 2016January 25, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

Simon and Garfunkel, Ben and Jerry, Pinky and The Brain and of course, peanut butter and cheese… Huh? Peanut butter and cheese? Are you mental? No my friends, not mental, very sane. This unlikely paring is in fact not unlikely at all, it’s a heavenly mix of hot salty melty goodness, mmm.
Okay, so perhaps it’s not a combination you would immediately put together and certainly not with cold cheese (barf) but it’s one of life’s dirty little secrets, so wrong but yet so right. This is something I tend to feed people without telling them what it is first, to prevent fussy idiots from turning their noses up at it. Recently I made it for my boyfriend Jamie, he’d managed to scoff two whole slices in his gob before blurting out “is there peanut butter in this?… Yum!”
As for me, I’ve been chomping on this delectable snack all my life, and not once did it ever occur to me that it was a little unusual. Invented by my dearest mum Lizzie, the ‘Lizzie Special’ has managed to keep me alive for over 31 years. Actually I think the Lizzie Special was partially invented by an old friend of my mum’s called Rosemary, but Rosemary is a horrible person so lets not give her any credit. She once rang the Samaritans because my mum and dad didn’t invite her over for Christmas dinner.
Also ‘Rosemary Special’ doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. So fuck you Rosemary, the Lizzie Special lives, unlike your friendship with my mum which is long dead. Enjoy everyone!

Lizzie Special / peanut butter & cheese on toast
Serves 1 / Hands on time 5 mins / Total time 10 mins / V
2 slices of bread
Unsalted spreadable butter
Crunchy peanut butter
Medium vegetarian cheddar cheese, sliced

Method
Put on a hot grill and lightly toast the bread. Spread each slice with butter and generously with peanut butter. Slice the cheese and place evenly on top of each slice and grill until the cheese begins to bubble. Serve immediately.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian

Potted Swiss cheese eggs

January 8, 2016January 25, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

Now, I know it’s the New Year and you’re all busy quaffing smoothies from your Nutribullets but let’s take a break and have some breakfast. Everyone knows breakfast is the best time of day to eat cheese… Probably.
Anyway, admittedly I’ve been on a health kick too – my wine paunch has alarmingly turned into a wine gut over the festive season. Something has to be done! Although, it’s the eighth of January and I’ve already grown tired of soup, oat cakes and those annoyingly small loaves of bread. IT’S TIME TO EAT SOME CHEESE! So fuck the diet, grab the sourdough and lets have a dippy egg and cheese party. Bran flakes can wait.

Potted Swiss cheese eggs
Serves 2 / Hands on time 15 mins / Total time 25 mins / V
You’ll need: 4 ramekins
4 large eggs
1 heaped tsp unsalted butter
1 heaped tsp plain flour
70g vegetarian cheddar or Gruyere* cheese, finely grated
½ tsp Dijon mustard
100ml semi-skimmed milk
¼ tsp nutmeg
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
Toast and butter to serve (optional)

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ 350°F/gas mark 4. Finely grate all the cheese and put to one side. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat and then whisk in the flour until the lumps are removed.
2. Leaving a small handful of cheese to one side for the topping, add the rest to the pan and whisk in the milk bit by bit. Add the mustard, nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Once the cheese sauce is nice and smooth, take off the heat.
3. Crack an egg into each ramekin and divide the cheese sauce between each. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and top with chopped parsley and season.
4. Place on a baking tray and bake on the middle shelf for 12-14 mins or until the whites have set and the yolks are still soft – keep an eye on these or they can easily overcook.
5. Meanwhile, toast the bread and spread with butter. Remove the potted eggs from the oven (they will be very hot so be careful). Serve topped with chopped parsley and buttered toast.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian

Homemade Goats Cheese

May 25, 2015September 11, 2018 ~ Corrie ~ 3 Comments

Homemade Goat's Cheese (trust me, it's easy than you think) — Homemade Goat’s Cheese (trust me, it’s easy than you think)

A strange recipe to start off my blog I know, but I was dangerously bored last Sunday and found a cheese making kit under a pile of books in my room. Ever so slightly out of date I decided to give it a whirl, cheese is better out of date anyway right? To my surprise the box only contained four things; half a metre of muslin cloth, a thermometer, a bag of rock salt and a bag of citric acid which you can substitute for lemon juice (hope my friend Jenni didn’t spend too much money on this present).
So anyway, off I went and bought 2 litres of goats milk and I was ready to give it a go, expecting it to be a complicated time consuming process. Two hours later I was eating goats cheese on toast, it was that easy! This is how I did it…

Homemade Goats Cheese
Makes 1 ball / Takes roughly 2 hours / V
You’ll need… Thermometer, Large deep pan, Colander, Butter muslin cloth (about 1/2 a metre)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
2 litres of whole goats milk
A fresh loaf of bread, I recommend walnut or sourdough
50ml of cooled boiled water (I just used the water in my kettle)
(Plus any herbs, garlic or chilli you may wish to add to flavour the cheese but you don’t have to. I just used a bit of freshly chopped parsley)

1. Mix 1tsp of citric acid (or lemon juice) into 50ml of cooled boiled water until dissolved and set aside.
2. Pour your milk into the pan and add the citric acid solution. Stir in an up and down motion thoroughly. Stir continuously but gently heat the milk on a medium heat up to 180F. You will see the milk begin to separate into the curds and whey (so that’s what curds and whey are, huh.) It will appear a little grainy.

3. Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and leave for half an hour. Have a cup of tea.
4. Put your colander in the sink and line with doubled over muslin. When the milk has cooled, gently pour into the colander and let the whey drain away. Once most of it has drained, mix in the salt and the herbs (if using).
5. Gather up the edges of the muslin to create a bag, twist the bag and give it a gentle squeeze to further extract the whey. Don’t squeeze too hard though, you don’t want the cheese to start seeping out (I apologise for using the word ‘seeping’). Use the corners of the muslin to securely tie it over a tap and leave for another half hour to an hour.

So that’s kind of it, YOU’VE ONLY GONE AND MADE FRICKIN CHEESE! Shape your cheese into whatever shape you desire, I like a log shape myself. You can eat the cheese immediately so get that lovely bread in the toaster, rub it with a garlic clove and spread the cheese liberally on top. Sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil. Refrigerate your cheese and it should keep for up to a week.