Author: Emma Hawkins
Veggie Stack Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

Veggie Stack Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

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Summer has hit and what screams summer more than a good BBQ? Normally I’d reach straight for the beef burgers when at a BBQ, but after these I don’t think I’d look for the meat again!

Recipe

Makes 4 burgers

Time:

Ingredients

  • 4 beetroot burger buns (see recipe below) or regular burger buns

For the Crispy Aubergine Steak

  • 1 aubergine
  • 100g breadcrumbs
  • 50g sesame seeds
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • ¼ tsp smoked paprika

For the Sweet Potato Fries

  • 1 large sweet potato (or 2 medium)
  • 2 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika

For the Filling

  • 1 garlic clove
  • 50ml mayonnaise
  • 2 balls of mozzarella
  • 2 beef tomatoes
  • A few handfuls of fresh basil
  • 4 tsp pesto

Method

  1. Begin by making the crispy aubergine steaks. Cut the aubergine into 1cm wide discs.
  2. Place the discs into a bowl, sprinkle with a little salt and leave for 30 minutes to rest.
  3. Wash and then dry the aubergine.
  4. In a wide bowl mix together the breadcrumbs and salt.
  5. In another bowl beat together the eggs, salt, pepper, and paprika with a fork.
  6. Take one of the aubergine discs, dip it into the egg mixture so it’s coated all over and then dip it into the crumb mixture so it’s covered all over with crumbs. Repeat with the rest of the aubergine.
  7. Fill a deep, wide frying pan with about ½ cm deep of oil and place over a medium high heat. (A good way to check the temperature it to take a leaf of a fresh herb or something equivalent and throw it into the oil, it should bubble and simmer like crazy. Remove the herb and then you’re ready to go!).
  8. Carefully place the aubergine steaks into the oil and deep-fry for about 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
  9. Take the aubergine out of the oil and place on a plate lined with kitchen roll to soak up the excess oil.
  10. Now make the sweet potato fries. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
  11. Wash and then slice the sweet potato into batons. Place them into a bowl and add the oil, salt, pepper and paprika. Stir until evenly coated and then tip out into a large roasting tin.
  12. Spread the fries out so they are as spread out as possible and then roast in the oven for about 40 minutes, stirring them halfway through cooking so they crisp up evenly.
  13. Whilst waiting for the fries to cook move on to the rest of the fillings. Take the garlic and crush it into a bowl. Add the mayo and mix to combine. Set to one side until needed.
  14. Take the mozzarella and slice it into discs about ½ cm wide. Do the same for the beef tomato.
  15. Now assemble the burgers! Slice your burger buns in half. Spread 1 tsp of the pesto over the base bun and 1tsp of the garlic mayo over the top bun.
  16.  Place one of the aubergine steaks on top of the pesto. The layer up some of the spinach leaves, tomato, mozzarella and basil. Place the top bun on top and enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x

 
Beetroot Burger Buns

Beetroot Burger Buns

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Recipe

Makes 4 burgers

Time:1 hour, plus rising and baking time

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 1 medium cooked beetroot
  • 50ml milk
  • 350g strong white bread flour
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 15g caster sugar
  • 4g fast action dried yeast
  • 2 eggs
  • 75g butter

For the topping

  • 1 small egg
  • ½ tbsp black sesame seeds

Method

  1. Put the beetroot into a bowl and blitz until smooth with a hand blender.
  2. Place the milk into a saucepan and warm through.
  3. Put the flour, sugar, salt and yeast into a bowl. (Make sure to not put the salt and yeast directly on top of each other as the salt can deactivate the yeast).
  4. Pour in the warm milk and then add the beetroot purree and the eggs. Stir until a smooth dough forms.
  5. Turn the dough out onto a worktop and knead for about 5 minutes until smooth and stretchy. Add the butter and knead for another 5 minutes to incorporate.
  6. Lightly grease a bowl and tip the dough into it. Cover with cling film and leave to rise at room temperature for about an hour, until doubled in size.
  7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured worktop and knead for 5 seconds to knock the excess air out.
  8. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and shape each one into a ball.
  9. Place each ball onto a lined baking tray, making sure they’re spaced well apart to allow for rising. Cover the buns loosely in clingfilm and leave to rise for another 30 minutes until puffed up.
  10. Beat the egg for the topping and brush it over the buns. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the top and then bake the buns for about 25 minutes, until a crust has formed and they have risen.
  11. Leave to cool on a wire rack and then stuff with whatever you want! (For suggestions see my Veggie Burger Recipe…)

 

 
Easiest Ever Triple Chocolate Cookies

Easiest Ever Triple Chocolate Cookies

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Recipe

Makes 12

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 125g butter
  • 175g light brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 100g plain flour
  • 50g milk chocolate
  • 50g white chocolate

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
  2. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat together until smooth.
  3. Add the egg and beat until combined.
  4. Add the flour and cocoa powder and beat again to get a soft dough.
  5. Roughly chop the milk and white chocolate and then stir it into the dough so it’s well distributed.
  6. Weigh the dough and divide the weight by 12 so you know how much each ball of cookie dough need to weigh (mine was 56g each). The portion out each blob of cookie dough to this weight and place, well spaced on the lined baking trays (I put 6 cookies on each tray).
  7. Sprinkle each with a little sea salt and then bake for 10-12 minutes until they’ve spread out and are just starting to crisp round the edges. Leave to cool and then enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Chocolate and Raspberry Tartlets

Chocolate and Raspberry Tartlets

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Recipe

Makes 6

Time: 2 hours plus chilling and baking time

Ingredients

For the chocolate pastry

  • 125g plain flour
  • 2tbsp icing sugar
  • 2tbsp cocoa powder
  • 135g butter
  • 1 small egg yolk
  • 1tsp lemon juice

For the raspberry chiffon

  • 325g frozen raspberries
  • 75g caster sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 sheets of gelatine
  • 100ml double cream

For the chocolate drizzle

  • 50g dark chocolate
  • 50ml double cream

To decorate

  • A few fresh raspberries

Method

  1. Begin by making the pastry. Put the flour, icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the butter in cubes and rub it into the flour with your finger tips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
  2. Add the egg yolk and lemon juice and stir the mixture with a round bladed knife to bring together into a ball of dough. (You can go in with your hands at the end to bring it together if need be).
  3. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
  4. Split the dough into 6, take one and put the others back into the fridge. Roll your first bit of pastry into a circle, about the thickness of a 1p coin, between two sheets of clingfilm. You can use your tartlet tins as a guide as to the shape of the circled you role out by placing them on top of the pastry every now and then. You want the pastry to be about 2cm wider all around than your tin.
  5. Take the top layer of clingfilm off the pastry and then turn the pastry sheet upside down (so the bottom layer of clingfilm is on the top) and gently ease the pastry into the tart case.
  6. Press your fingers gently into the tart (especially around the sides) to make sure the pastry has taken the shape of the tin. Then fold the excess pastry enough so the top edge of the tin is covered all the way around. Take a rolling pin and role it across the top of the tin to cut off the excess pastry. (Don’t worry about removing this excess pastry yet as it’ll be easier once frozen).
  7. Repeat the lining of the tins, taking one piece of dough out of the fridge at a time until you have 6 lines pastry cases, with the top layer of clingfilm still on. Place these in the freezer for 20 minutes.
  8. Pre-heat an oven to 180C. Peel the clingfilm off the tart cases and then break off the excess pastry around the top (this should be much easier now the pastry has frozen).
  9. Cut 6 squares of greaseproof paper, around the same size as the tartlets, and crumple them up in your hands. Carefully un-crumble each one and then fit it inside the tart case. Then fill the tartlets with baking beans (or rice).
  10. Bake the pastry cases in the oven for about 15 minutes. Then take out the baking paper and beans and bake for another 5-10 minutes to crisp up completely. (The pastry wont be going in the oven again so make sure it’s perfectly cooked through before taking it out). Leave the pastry to cool completely.
  11. Now move onto the raspberry chiffon filling. Put the raspberries, sugar and lemon juice into a pan and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the raspberries have defrosted and the sugar has dissolved.
  12. Meanwhile fill a small bowl with cold water and place the gelatine sheets in it to soften.
  13. When the raspberries have done simmering, take the gelatine, squeeze it to release the excess water and then stir it into the raspberries to dissolve.
  14. Sieve the raspberries into a large bowl. Make sure to work the raspberries through the sieve with a spatula, and to scrape off the pulp on the bottom of the sieve as that’s where all the good stuff is. Leave to cool completely.
  15. Whisk the cream up to soft peaks. Then whisk the cooled raspberry puree into the cream, a little bit at a time.
  16. Leave the raspberry mixture to thicken up a little bit, stirring every 15 minutes to check the consistency. You want it to be at the point where it’s just about to form a trail when a spoon is lifted out of the mixture and left to drip. At this point pour it into the cooled pastry cases until full and then leave them in the fridge to set completely.
  17. Once set move onto the chocolate drizzle. Chop the chocolate finely and put it into a metal or glass bowl. Heat the cream in a small pan until just below boiling and then pour it over the chocolate, whisking constantly, until melted.
  18. Pour the ganache into a pipping bag (either with a very small, round nozzle or a disposable one you can cut a small hole in the end of). You then need to wait for the ganache to reach the consistency where it pipes in a smooth line but hasn’t set too much (the only way to find this out is to try pipping every 15 minutes or so and see what it looks like).
  19. When ready to pipe take your tartlets and spread them out on a worktop. Then pipe loose swirls, loops and circles over the tops. Leave for 20 minutes to set.
  20. To finish off take the tarts out of their tins and then top with some fresh raspberries.

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Picture Focaccia

Picture Focaccia

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Recipe

Makes 1 loaf

Time: 1 hour, plus proving and baking time

Ingredients

  • 500g strong white bread flour
  • 7g fast action dried yeast
  • 2 tsp table salt
  • 5 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt

To decorate

  • 1 yellow bell pepper
  • A handful of cherry tomatoes
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Fresh chives
  • A handful of peas
  • 3 tsp black sesame seeds
  • A few leaves of flat leaf parsley
  • 50g feta cheese

Method

  1. Put the flour, yeast and salt into a large mixing bowl (make sure not to put the yeast directly on top of the salt or it could deactivate). Mix everything together.
  2. Add 2tbsp of the oil and 350-400ml water. Mix everything together until you have a sticky dough.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a worktop and knead for 5-10 minutes until smooth and stretchy.
  4. Lightly oil a bowl and tip the dough into it. Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
  5. Oil a shallow 25x35cm tin. Tip the dough into the tin and press it out to fill it in an even sheet. Cover with cling film and leave to prove for another 30 minutes.
  6. Now prepare the fillings. You can have fun with this so let your imagination run wild, however this is what I did…
  7. De-seed and then slice the yellow peppers into batons. Halve the cherry tomatoes and then pop all your other toppings into bowls or on plates so you can access them easily.
  8. Arrange your yellow peppers over the bread in little flowers, leaving a small circle in the middle to be filled with black sesame seeds.
  9. Place your long herbs (e.g chives) to look like the stems of the flowers. Arrange the tomatoes, peas and basil leaves to look like leaves and seeds climbing up the stems. Then fill in the gaps with parsley leaves and some crumbled feta. (Make sure whatever topping you put on you press into the dough enough that it wont fall off once baked)
  10. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Mix together 1tbsp of the olive oil with 1tbsp of the water and drizzle it oven the risen and decorated bread. Sprinkle over the sea salt and then bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x