Tag: breakfast

Cookery Classes, Food, radio, Recipes

Start your day the romantic way

heypesto

We’re all in need of a little spoiling at the moment so for Valentine’s Day why not make an extra special breakfast treat for someone, or indeed for yourself ❤

You might have heard me talking about romantic cooking with Will Faulkner on Midlands 103 during the week. Well as promised, here’s how you can make a delicious romantic breakfast of heart shaped French toast stuffed with chocolate sauce …..

heart toast with white chocolate

To make things easier on yourself I recommend that you make the chocolate spread in advance. Trust me, it’s much better than any well known brand 😉

What you need:

  • 125g cream
  • 35g sugar
  • 75g dark chocolate, chopped or in callets
  • 100g bar hazelnut chocolate, chopped

What you do:

  • To make the spread, heat the cream and the sugar together in a small saucepan. Careful, don’t allow it to boil.
  • Place both chocolates in a bowl and pour the warm cream over it.
  • Whisk until you have a smooth chocolately mix. Allow to cool.

Once your chocolate spread has cooled you’re ready to make the french toast and assemble your dish. You will need:

  • 4 slices bread – preferably brioche
  • 1 egg
  • 75 ml milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tbsp. caster sugar
  • 25 g butter
  • Icing sugar
  • Toasted hazelnuts and raspberries to serve

What you do:

  • Whisk the egg, milk, vanilla and sugar together in a wide bowl.
  • Using a heart shaped cutter , cut out the centre of each slice of bread.
    Spread chocolate on two of the slices and then top each with the other pieces ie you will have two sandwiches!
  • Press the edges together to prevent the spread leaking out
  • Dip each of the sandwiches into the egg mixture and allow to sit for a minute on each side to soak up mix.
  • Heat the butter in large frying pan, add the sandwiches and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown.
  • Transfer to your serving plate (s), add raspberries and chopped hazelnuts and sprinkle with icing sugar .

Your romantic breakfast is now ready to present to the object of your affections….. Enjoy 😘

cutting the toast

Happy Romantic Cooking!

Yvonne xx

If you’d like to join the weekly Hey Pesto! cookalong or attend one of my online cookery classes then please click here  for details. 

Special thanks to Jeff Harvey for the great food photography📷

Cookery Classes, Cooking, Food, Healthy Eating, Recipes

A Healthy Start – to the Day and the New Year!

heypesto

Once again I’m distracted away from cook book reviews………..well I was trying to be a radio star!!!

This week I was thrilled to be invited onto the Today with Will Faulkner radio program to discuss my favourite topic – food. I thought I was going in to promote my cookery classes in Hugh Lynch’s Pub but instead was given a  brief  to talk about Healthy eating for New Year .

Thinking about this I decided that the best thing would be to make small but effective lifestyle changes – starting with the most important meal of the day – breakfast!

I had to admit, when Will asked me about porridge and how to encourage children to eat it, that I CAN’T abide the stuff – I can’t even stand to look at it, never mind cook it or worse still eat it!  However I do appreciate the healthiness of porridge oats and I have no problem eating them in other forms – bread, granola or even my Mum’s famous oatmeal biscuits!

So as  ‘props’ to my interview I brought along my favourite breakfast  (and porridge alternative!) –  Granola &  Glenisk Greek-style yoghurt and oaty brown bread – all I was missing was the coffee!

Here are the recipes for same – except the yoghurt of course!

If you can get your hands on them – Kilbeggan Organic Porridge Oats are the best in these recipes!

Breakfast Granola

This is based on a Jill Dupleix recipe – I tend to add whatever seeds and dried fruit I have to hand. My Christmas batch had a lot of dried cranberries in it! Just watch the sugar content when you’re choosing dried fruit.

No Servings:       10+ 
Oven:                  150C/Gas 2            

 What you need:

  • 400g Kilbeggan  Oatmeal Flakes
  • 3 tbsp sunflower seeds
  • 3 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp linseed
  • 100g flaked almonds
  • 100g hazelnuts or walnuts
  • 50g dessicated coconut
  • Pinch sea salt
  • 4 tbsp honey
  • 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg (freshly grated)
  • 100g dried fruit – cranberries, cherries, apricots….
  • 100g sultanas

What to do:

  • Mix oats, seeds, nuts and salt in a large bowl.
  • Heat  honey, olive oil and spices in small pan until just melted.
  • Pour liquid over dry ingredients and mix well.
  • Spread evenly over two lined baking trays.
  • Bake for 20-30 mins, ‘shaking’ once or twice, until nicely toasted.
  • Remove from the oven and add in the dried fruits.
  • Allow to cool and then store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
This is really delicious served with Glenisk Yoghurt – especially the Natural Greek Style one!

Margaret’s Oaty Brown Bread

This recipe comes from my friend Margaret – I love it so much I’ve asked her permission to share it.  I have substituted molasses for the egg that was in her original recipe . It only takes 5 minutes to put together – quicker than going to the shop!

No Servings:         1 Loaf
Oven:                     220C/200 C Fan/Gas 5

What you need:

  • 4oz /125g wholemeal spelt flour
  • 4oz/125g  oatbran
  • 4oz/125g  pinhead oatmeal
  • 4 oz/125g Kilbeggan oatflakes
  • 1 tsp bread soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 dessertsp molasses/treacle
  • 15fl oz/ 425ml  buttermilk

 What to do:

  • Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. (Make sure to sieve in bread soda)
  • Make a hollow in the centre and pour in buttermilk & treacle. Mix quickly & well. Pour into lined 2lb bread tin.
  • Bake in hot oven for 20mins then reduce heat to 170C/Gas 3  and bake for another 15-20 mins.
  • Turn out of tin and check for ‘hollow’ sound.
  • Allow to cool on a wire rack.

Of course it’s not just for breakfast….

I hope you enjoy the recipes and thanks again to Midlands 103 for inviting me in – hopefully there will be more chances for me to rabbit on about all things food!

Happy Cooking!

PS there are still two classes left on the ‘Easy Entertaining’ course in Hugh Lynch’s …..