When I woke up today, snow was falling thickly in the gardens and the roofs and the windows and the streets! It made me very happy as we did not have a single flurry this Winter. And, I wasn’t alone; from my window I could see little children giddily going to school, trying to catch snowflakes and imagining the snowmen they would build at recess! I think this impromptu Winter Day is the perfect occasion to indulge in those beautifully Crunchy Fudgy Brownies (I took inspiration from The Simple Things’s Ultimate Fudgy Brownies but added a bit of a crunch to it with nuts, cereals and seeds!) Whether you stay cosily inside, or go for a vivifying walk in the white powder; these are a wonderful treat to indulge in! Happy Friday!
Ingredients:
5 whole walnuts
¼ cup hazelnuts
150 grams/5.30 ounces dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids)
100 grams/3.5 ounces unsalted butter
150 grams/5.30 caster sugar
2 eggs
25 grams/0.90 ounces plain flour
30 grams/1 ounce unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon quinoa crispies
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes, plus more for sprinkling
½ tablespoon pumpkin seeds
Preheat oven to 180°C/355°F. Butter a square or rectanglular brownie tin, and line with baking paper; set aside.
Crack open the walnuts, and gently remove the halvesfrom the shells, so you have ten halves.
Toastwalnutsandhazelnutsin a small frying pan over a high flame until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and transfer to a small plate; set aside.
In a medium bowl fitted over a small saucepan of simmering water, melt dark chocolate withbutter until silky. Stir in caster sugar, and remove from the heat. Let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
Break in the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Then, whisk energetically for about 3 minutes, until mixtureis smooth and shiny (this is an excellent arm workout, too!)
Sift in flourandcocoa powder, and gently fold in with a spatula. When almost all the flourandcocoaare folded in, add toasted walnutsandhazelnuts,quinoa crispies andfleur de sel. Fold in until just blended and no white spec of flourremains.
Pourbatterinto prepared tin, and level the top with the spatula. Sprinkle liberally with pumpkin seeds and a pinch of fleur de sel.
Bake at 180°C/355°F, for 20 minutes, until the middle is just set and the edges are a bit cracked. Remove from the oven, and let cool for as long as you can wait (at least half an hour) before cuting into a dozen squares.
This simple and tasty Rosemary Roasted Chicken and Courgettes makes a lighter, vibrant and flavourful Sunday Lunch on a sunny Spring day! Happy Sunday!
Ingredients (serves 2)
1 fluffy sprig fresh rosemary
½ onion
1 large courgette, rinsed
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 chicken thighs
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup water
Preheat oven 200°C/395°F.
Removerosemary leaves from the stalk and finely chop them; set aside.
Peel and slice onion. Cut courgetteinto slices.
In a roasting tin, combinecourgetteandonion slices. Add half of the chopped rosemary, along with the fleur de sel andblack pepper. Drizzle with olive oil, and toss, with clean hands, to coat in oil,herbandseasoning.
Season chicken thighs on both sides with fleur de sel,black pepper and remaining rosemary. Rub gently into the flesh. Sit chicken thighs onto the courgetteandonion slices, and drizzle with olive oil. Pour waterat the bottom of the tin.
Place tin in the middle of the hot oven, and roast, at 200°C/395°F, 35 to 40 minutes.
ServeRosemary Roasted Chicken and Courgettes hot, with a side of fluffy brown rice. It pairs well either with a chilled light white Bordeaux, or a fruity red like a good Saint-Chinian.
ThisPoached Egg on Smoked Herring in Cream Sauce may be a mouthful, but it is a very simple, yet rather elegant, and absolutely comforting recipe! Excellent for dinner. Happy Wednesday!
Ingredients (serves 1):
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 large egg
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
½ small onion
½ cup double cream
½ cup dry white wine (like Sauvignon Blanc)
100 grams/3.5 ounces smoked herring fillets
½ lemon
¼ teaspoon fleur de sel or sea salt flakes
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
In a medium saucepan, filled to about three-quarters, bring water to a boil. Stir in apple cider vinegarandcoarse sea salt. Break the egginto a cup or a glass. Using a wisk, stir the waterto create a small whirlwind and drop the eggin the middle of it. Let it cook, 2 ½ minutes. Then, with a slotted spoon, gently transfer poached egg into a medium bowl filled with ice water andice cubes.
Meltbutterin a large, deep skillet over a medium flame.
Peel and finely slice onion. Once the butteris just foaming, stir in the onionand cook, a couple of minutes until softened. Stir in double creamandSauvignon Blanc. Bring to a simmmer, and add smoked herring fillets, skin-side up in the middle of the skillet. Squeeze the juice of the lemon all over the fish, and season with coarse sea salt and black pepper.
Simmer, over a medium flame, for a dozen minutes, stirring occasionnally until saucethickens slightly.
Once the herringsandsauceare ready, plunge poached egg back into the simmering poaching liquid to warm, 1 or 2 minutes. Lift out of the saucepan with the slotted spoon, and transfer to a warm plate or saucer.
ServeSmoked Herring in Cream Sauce into a plate. Top with Poached Egg, and serve immediately with toastedSourdough and a glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc.
