Happy New Year, I hope you enjoyed your Christmas break, and if you have a few more days off, I’m sure they will be nice and relaxing. We also had a good rest, although there has been a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of maintenance work to MacNean House. The restaurant is looking spic and span and ready for guests later in the week.
Given it’s the new year, lots of resolutions have been discussed and maybe even a few made. The gyms are doing great business as we are all getting fit.
Throughout the year people often tell me the they are determined to do more home cooking from scratch so maybe that resolution has been made in some homes.
I do think it is hugely important to know what goes into your food and what you are eating. If you buy well, you can eat well and have a good balanced diet.
Without a doubt this type of food education has come a long way since the time I was doing my training. People are much more savvy about ingredients.
I suppose the thing about any resolution is that if you take on too much, you will give up. So to my mind, even a small increase in home cooking is a good thing. If you’re doing very little, then one or two evening meals is a big improvement and before long it becomes a habit – a good one.
If I was to make one change it would be to cook more with the twins. They were a big help in the kitchen over Christmas. They are both interested in food and have a good appreciation of what they are eating. Lucia has a sweeter tooth. I wonder where she gets that from?
Connor is more interested in savoury tastes and wholesome dinners. He loves potatoes and, as you know, I am a great fan of our humble spud. They are learning what they want to do in the kitchen at their own pace. We’re not pushing them at all, and so long as they end up well able to cook with good ingredients at home, I’ll be more than happy with that.
Both recipes today are lovely for breakfast or brunch, and perfect for those lazy January mornings before the world goes back to normal after the holidays.
For pancakes, I like to let the batter rest for an hour or two, or overnight. You could add a little lemon zest, orange zest or vanilla extract. Then cook on a medium to hot plate in a little oil. A tiny bit of butter gives nice flavour and colour. You could make them plain but the cinnamon in this recipe is delicious and these swirl pancakes need no syrup, as they are drizzled with a cream cheese glaze instead.
They’re actually quite filling and you might find that one is enough for breakfast. Try them with blackberries and blueberries, or slices of banana also work well. Or just a little crème fraîche. We serve them in the restaurant with some mascarpone with a little lemon zest added.
The grilled streaky bacon with avocado and poached egg is a very popular breakfast in the restaurant. There are lots of bakeries making good sourdough these days. This moreish combination of creamy avocado and crispy bacon on toast topped off with a runny poached egg, cooked with a little vinegar is well worth getting up for.
The poached eggs can be kept in a bowl of cold water in the fridge for up to two days, then slipped into a pan of boiling water to reheat as needed.
Make sure your avocados are good and ripe. Avocados can be a bit bland so in my opinion, they need the flavour of a little lemon or lime. A pinch of chilli flakes adds a nice spice.
Tomatoes take on an intensely deep flavour after roasting and can be used in so many different ways, but are particularly good as part of a relaxed breakfast.
This roasted tomatoes mix will also keep for a couple of days covered with cling film in the fridge and can be brought back up to room temperature before you use them.
Cinnamon swirl pancakes with cream cheese glaze
Ingredients: Serves 2-4
For the cream cheese glaze:
100g unsalted butter
50g soft cream cheese,
at room temperature
100g icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp vanilla extract
For the pancakes:
250g plain flour
Large pinch of sea salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
400ml buttermilk
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
Sunflower oil, for frying
To serve:
Fresh blackberries
Fresh blueberries
Method
1. To make the glaze, melt the butter in a pan set over a low heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until almost smooth. Tip in the icing sugar and vanilla extract and whisk again until smooth. Set aside while you make the pancakes.
2. Put the flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl and make a slight dip in the middle with a fork. Break in the eggs and add a little of the buttermilk, then beat until smooth, adding enough of the rest of the buttermilk to make a smooth, thick batter.
3. Remove 100ml of the batter and mix the cinnamon into it, then place in a squeezy bottle or a ziplock bag that you can snip the corner off of.
4. Heat a medium, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Using kitchen paper, smear the pan with a little oil, then spoon in large spoonfuls of the batter – each pancake should be approximately 10cm in diameter. You need to cook the pancakes in batches.
5. Reduce the heat to low. Snip off one corner of the ziplock bag with the cinnamon batter, if using, and make a swirl in each pancake. You’ll need to work quickly and leave a border around the edge of each pancake so the swirl doesn’t spill over.
6. Once bubbles begin to appear on the pancakes, turn them over using a wide metal spatula and cook for another 2–3 minutes, until golden. Keep warm on a plate while you cook the remainder, wiping the pan with oiled kitchen paper after each batch.
7. When ready to serve, reheat the cream cheese glaze over a low heat. Arrange the pancakes on warmed plates with fresh blackberries and blueberries and drizzle over the cream cheese glaze.
Grilled streaky
bacon with smashed avocado on toast and a poached egg
Grilled streaky bacon with smashed avocado on toast and a poached egg.
Ingredients: Serves 4
8 dry-cured streaky bacon rashers
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 large eggs
4 thick slices of white crusty
loaf or sourdough bread
a little extra virgin olive oil
2 firm, ripe avocados, halved and stoned
½ lemon
Fresh micro herbs, to garnish
For the roasted tomatoes:
4 vine-ripened tomatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F/gas mark 2).
2. Arrange the tomatoes on a baking tray and scatter over the garlic and thyme leaves. Drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season generously. Roast for 1 hour, then leave to cool before using.
3. Preheat the grill to a medium heat. Grill the bacon rashers until crisp and golden brown on both sides, then drain well on kitchen paper.
4. Fill a large saucepan with water. Add the vinegar and a pinch of salt and bring to a hard boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat so the water is simmering, then use a spoon to swirl the water into a whirlpool. Crack in the eggs one at a time and cook for 2½ minutes, then drain well on kitchen paper.
5. Toast the bread in a toaster or on the griddle and drizzle with a little olive oil, then arrange on warmed plates. Scoop the avocados into a bowl, mash with a squeeze of lemon and season to taste.
6. Divide between the toast, top with two crispy bacon rashers and put a poached egg on each slice. Season with a final pinch of sea salt and a grinding of black pepper. Serve with two roasted tomato halves alongside and scatter over the micro herbs.
Happy New Year, I hope you enjoyed your Christmas break, and if you have a few more days off, I’m sure they will be nice and relaxing. We also had a good rest, although there has been a lot going on behind the scenes in terms of maintenance work to MacNean House. The restaurant is looking spic and span and ready for guests later in the week.
Given it’s the new year, lots of resolutions have been discussed and maybe even a few made. The gyms are doing great business as we are all getting fit.
Throughout the year people often tell me the they are determined to do more home cooking from scratch so maybe that resolution has been made in some homes.
I do think it is hugely important to know what goes into your food and what you are eating. If you buy well, you can eat well and have a good balanced diet.
Without a doubt this type of food education has come a long way since the time I was doing my training. People are much more savvy about ingredients.
I suppose the thing about any resolution is that if you take on too much, you will give up. So to my mind, even a small increase in home cooking is a good thing. If you’re doing very little, then one or two evening meals is a big improvement and before long it becomes a habit – a good one.
If I was to make one change it would be to cook more with the twins. They were a big help in the kitchen over Christmas. They are both interested in food and have a good appreciation of what they are eating. Lucia has a sweeter tooth. I wonder where she gets that from?
Connor is more interested in savoury tastes and wholesome dinners. He loves potatoes and, as you know, I am a great fan of our humble spud. They are learning what they want to do in the kitchen at their own pace. We’re not pushing them at all, and so long as they end up well able to cook with good ingredients at home, I’ll be more than happy with that.
Both recipes today are lovely for breakfast or brunch, and perfect for those lazy January mornings before the world goes back to normal after the holidays.
For pancakes, I like to let the batter rest for an hour or two, or overnight. You could add a little lemon zest, orange zest or vanilla extract. Then cook on a medium to hot plate in a little oil. A tiny bit of butter gives nice flavour and colour. You could make them plain but the cinnamon in this recipe is delicious and these swirl pancakes need no syrup, as they are drizzled with a cream cheese glaze instead.
They’re actually quite filling and you might find that one is enough for breakfast. Try them with blackberries and blueberries, or slices of banana also work well. Or just a little crème fraîche. We serve them in the restaurant with some mascarpone with a little lemon zest added.
The grilled streaky bacon with avocado and poached egg is a very popular breakfast in the restaurant. There are lots of bakeries making good sourdough these days. This moreish combination of creamy avocado and crispy bacon on toast topped off with a runny poached egg, cooked with a little vinegar is well worth getting up for.
The poached eggs can be kept in a bowl of cold water in the fridge for up to two days, then slipped into a pan of boiling water to reheat as needed.
Make sure your avocados are good and ripe. Avocados can be a bit bland so in my opinion, they need the flavour of a little lemon or lime. A pinch of chilli flakes adds a nice spice.
Tomatoes take on an intensely deep flavour after roasting and can be used in so many different ways, but are particularly good as part of a relaxed breakfast.
This roasted tomatoes mix will also keep for a couple of days covered with cling film in the fridge and can be brought back up to room temperature before you use them.
Cinnamon swirl pancakes with cream cheese glaze
Ingredients: Serves 2-4
For the cream cheese glaze:
100g unsalted butter
50g soft cream cheese,
at room temperature
100g icing sugar, sifted
½ tsp vanilla extract
For the pancakes:
250g plain flour
Large pinch of sea salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
400ml buttermilk
1 heaped tsp ground cinnamon
Sunflower oil, for frying
To serve:
Fresh blackberries
Fresh blueberries
Method
1. To make the glaze, melt the butter in a pan set over a low heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until almost smooth. Tip in the icing sugar and vanilla extract and whisk again until smooth. Set aside while you make the pancakes.
2. Put the flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl and make a slight dip in the middle with a fork. Break in the eggs and add a little of the buttermilk, then beat until smooth, adding enough of the rest of the buttermilk to make a smooth, thick batter.
3. Remove 100ml of the batter and mix the cinnamon into it, then place in a squeezy bottle or a ziplock bag that you can snip the corner off of.
4. Heat a medium, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Using kitchen paper, smear the pan with a little oil, then spoon in large spoonfuls of the batter – each pancake should be approximately 10cm in diameter. You need to cook the pancakes in batches.
5. Reduce the heat to low. Snip off one corner of the ziplock bag with the cinnamon batter, if using, and make a swirl in each pancake. You’ll need to work quickly and leave a border around the edge of each pancake so the swirl doesn’t spill over.
6. Once bubbles begin to appear on the pancakes, turn them over using a wide metal spatula and cook for another 2–3 minutes, until golden. Keep warm on a plate while you cook the remainder, wiping the pan with oiled kitchen paper after each batch.
7. When ready to serve, reheat the cream cheese glaze over a low heat. Arrange the pancakes on warmed plates with fresh blackberries and blueberries and drizzle over the cream cheese glaze.
Grilled streaky
bacon with smashed avocado on toast and a poached egg
Grilled streaky bacon with smashed avocado on toast and a poached egg.
Ingredients: Serves 4
8 dry-cured streaky bacon rashers
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 large eggs
4 thick slices of white crusty
loaf or sourdough bread
a little extra virgin olive oil
2 firm, ripe avocados, halved and stoned
½ lemon
Fresh micro herbs, to garnish
For the roasted tomatoes:
4 vine-ripened tomatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F/gas mark 2).
2. Arrange the tomatoes on a baking tray and scatter over the garlic and thyme leaves. Drizzle over the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season generously. Roast for 1 hour, then leave to cool before using.
3. Preheat the grill to a medium heat. Grill the bacon rashers until crisp and golden brown on both sides, then drain well on kitchen paper.
4. Fill a large saucepan with water. Add the vinegar and a pinch of salt and bring to a hard boil over a high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat so the water is simmering, then use a spoon to swirl the water into a whirlpool. Crack in the eggs one at a time and cook for 2½ minutes, then drain well on kitchen paper.
5. Toast the bread in a toaster or on the griddle and drizzle with a little olive oil, then arrange on warmed plates. Scoop the avocados into a bowl, mash with a squeeze of lemon and season to taste.
6. Divide between the toast, top with two crispy bacon rashers and put a poached egg on each slice. Season with a final pinch of sea salt and a grinding of black pepper. Serve with two roasted tomato halves alongside and scatter over the micro herbs.
SHARING OPTIONS