Ren Behan – Author The Sweet Polish Kitchen

One-Pot Lamb with Orzo (Yiouvetsi)

Ren Behan — Sat, 11 Apr 2020 15:37:45 +0000

A Cypriot-inspired dish known as Yiouvetsi or lamb with orzo casserole. Perfect for feeding a big family, or a crowd. One of our favourites.

One-Pot Cypriot Lamb

Delicious and comforting and very easy to make. Orzo is a type of pasta, shaped like slightly larger grains of rice. If you can’t find orzo, try macaroni, or any very small pasta shapes.

2 tbsp olive oil
500 g lamb (chopped into very small cubes (leg steaks or neck works well))
2 white onions (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (peeled, grated)
2 tsp tomato puree
400 g tin plum tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp. fresh or dried oregano
1 litre lamb or chicken stock
250 g orzo pasta
Large handful fresh mint (roughly chopped)
100 g feta cheese (crumbled)

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large casserole pot and brown the lamb pieces, ideally in batches, making sure the first lot is brown before moving on and browning the next amount. Lift each batch out of the pan and set to one side until all of it has browned. Keep the browned lamb covered with a plate.
Add a second tablespoon of oil to the pan add the onions, scraping the bottom of the pan where the lamb has been browning.
Cook the onions very gently for 10 minutes until softened. Add a few tablespoons of water to help the onions along and keep the pan from drying out.
Add the garlic and tomato puree, stir and cook for a further five minutes.
Tip the browned lamb back in, add the tin of tomatoes and then half fill the can with water and tip that in. Add the cinnamon and dried or fresh oregano. Cook on a low, gentle heat for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Bread up the tomatoes with a spoon if they were whole and not chopped.
Stir the orzo into the casserole pan, stir well and pour over the stock. Cook, uncovered, for a further 10-11min or until the orzo is tender. It should not be too soft, but rather al dente. Season with lots of salt and pepper.
Once cooked, carefully spoon onto a large serving dish, sprinkle over the fresh mint and the crumbled feta. Serve immediately.

Main

Cypriot

You may also like:

Lamb with wild mushroom sauce and dill mash

Polish meatballs with mushroom sauce

Turkey and leek meatballs with tomato tagliatelle

Creme Egg Cupcakes

Ren Behan — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 14:33:53 +0000

Have fun this Easter with these Creme Egg Cupcakes!

Creme Egg Cupcakes

Made with Cadbury’s Creme Eggs, for a egg-stra special treat this Easter.

125 g caster sugar
125 g unsalted butter or margarine (at room temperature)
2 eggs (beaten)
100 g self-raising flour (or plain flour + 1 tsp baking powder)
25 g cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
12 large Crème eggs (unwrapped)
For the vanilla frosting
125 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
250 g icing sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
To decorate
12 mini Crème eggs (unwrapped)

Place the large Crème eggs into the freezer. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line a 12-hole muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Beat the sugar and butter or margarine together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Slowly add in the eggs and a tablespoon of flour at a time. Sift in the rest of the flour and the cocoa powder and mix well. Stir in the milk and mix again.
Put one spoonful of the cupcake mixture into each paper case. Take the Crème eggs out of the freezer and place one whole egg into the case, pressing it down gently into the mixture. Put another spoonful of the cupcake mixture on top of each egg. Using the back of a teaspoon, gently even out the cupcake mixture in the case, so that the top of the Crème egg is just showing.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Take the cupcakes out of the oven, let them cool in the tin slightly and then place them onto a wire rack.
To make the vanilla frosting, beat the butter for a few minutes until it is pale and creamy. Slowly add in the icing sugar until it is all incorporated and beat for a few minutes. Add the vanilla, followed by the milk to loosen the mixture slightly. Transfer the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a round-holed nozzle.
Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake and decorate each cake with one mini egg, cut into two halves.

Dessert

5 Polish Recipes from Wild Honey and Rye

Ren Behan — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 13:45:49 +0000

Lots of you have been very busy making recipes from my book, Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes. Here are a few of my favourite ones:

From the ‘Seasonal and Raw Salads’ Chapter:

Buckwheat and Beetroot Salad with Feta, Walnuts and Honey: made by Coffee and Vanilla {Click here for recipe}

(This salad also goes very well with the Polish meatballs below)

Margot is a Polish blogger based in Brighton and so I was super-keen to receive her feedback on my Polish recipes. How would they compare to her own family recipes or to the recipes she has tried in Poland? Luckily, Margot was excited to find lots of recipes that she wanted to try out and was pleased to find a buckwheat recipe that immediately appealed to her. Margot’s husband, who does not usually enjoy buckwheat or beetroot, also enjoyed it.

Margot says: “Being Polish, the recipes all seem quite familiar to me but at the same time so different from what I’m used to. Ren has taken traditional Polish dishes to a completely new level, adding international ingredients and modern methods of preparation. It would unquestionably make a great gift to anyone interested in Polish cuisine.”

Beetroot and Buckwheat Salad with Feta. Image Credit: Margot at Coffee and Vanilla

From the ‘Seasonal Soups and Market-Inspired Sides’ Chapter:

Polish Forest Mushroom Soup: made by FoodieQuine {Click here for recipe}

Claire at FoodieQuine in Scotland shares her impressions on Wild Honey and Rye. The Forest Mushroom Soup immediately caught her eye, so she set about making a batch, served with some delicious pearl barley.

Claire says: “It seems that the contemporary Polish food scene is striving at both street food, home cooking and Michelin star level. In addition to inspiring me to recreate her recipes at home, I’ve also been inspired by Ren to add a visit to Poland to my ever increasing travel bucket list.”

Polish Mushroom Soup. Image Credit: Claire at FoodieQuine

From the ‘Food for Family and Friends’ Chapter:

Potato Pancakes in Mushroom Sauce: made by Ceri at Natural Kitchen Adventures {Click here for recipe}

Ceri had taken a trip to Poland in 1998 and whilst the trip itself was full of fun for Ceri as she travelled with her youth orchestra, the food didn’t leave much of a lasting impression. Prompted by the book, Ceri had a longer than usual peruse of the Polish food aisle at her local supermarket and was happy to find roasted buckwheat under its Polish name of Kasha or Kasza. In the end, Ceri chose to make the Potato Pancakes in Mushroom Sauce (definitely a staple in our house) and served them with her own carrot and cucumber salad with caraway seeds.

Ceri says: “The book is such a wonderful memoir of a cuisine that I think perhaps could do with a bit of redefining on the world stage. Ren explains in the book that the Poland of today is probably a bit different to the Poland we think of. I’d love to go back and find out.”

Polish Potato Pancakes with Mushroom Sauce: Image Credit Ceri at Natural Kitchen Adventures

Millet Kaszotto with Wild Mushrooms: made by Kellie at Food to Glow {Click here for recipe}

Kellie has been reading my blog, and I hers, since the very beginning of my journey into food writing and I was thrilled that as a cancer health educator, Kellie found a recipe that she was very happy to make and blog about from Wild Honey and Rye. Kellie’s blog is mainly vegan and plant-based and the earthy image of a Millet ‘Kaszotto’ with Wild Mushrooms immediately took her fancy. Although Kellie often cooks risotto-type dishes with buckwheat, barley or rice, she had never cooked with millet, which in Poland is known as kasza jaglana, hance the name ‘kaszotto’ given to the dish. Kellie also shares her two favourite restaurants in London – Baltic Restaurant and Bar and Ognisko Restaurant at The Polish Hearth Club (which, incidentally, are mine too) and selects some of her favourite recipes and chapter highlights from the book.

Kellie’s recipe verdict: “This cosy, satisfying dish is staying in our repertoire of easy weekday suppers, occasionally adding our own touches – flecks of goat’s cheese one time; sauteed tempeh another.”

Millet Risotto (Kaszotto) Image credit: Kellie at Food to Glow

Bigos (Hunter’s Stew): made by Nicola at Kitchen Sanctuary {Click here for recipe}

I couldn’t write a Polish cookery book without including a recipe for my Mama’s Bigos recipe, which makes an appearance during every buffet and celebration in our house and is devoured every time. I was thrilled that Nicky over at Kitchen Sanctuary chose to make this dish, not least because it is known as Poland’s national dish, but also because it encouraged her to cook with ingredients, key to the Polish kitchen, which she hadn’t brought together before – sauerkraut and Polish sausage. Nicky’s dish looks absolutely delicious and it’s great to hear that the whole family enjoyed it.

Nicky says: “Slow cooked pork with mushrooms and stock is exactly the kind of comfort food I love. The stew starts off on the hob and is finished in the oven. A little under 3 hours from start to finish, it’s the perfect meal to cook in the oven on a drizzly Saturday afternoon. I loved the tender, fall-apart pork, the tangy bite of the cabbage, and the sausages added lots of meaty flavour (the kids’ loved the sausages the most).”

Bigos Polish Hunters Stew Recipes. Image Credit: Nicola Corbishley

I hope you enjoy checking out some of the recipes above. Let me know if you’ve cooked from the book by tagging me @foodren on social media or by using the hashtag #wildhoneyandrye

Hot Cross Buns with a Maple Glaze

Ren Behan — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 09:00:01 +0000

Hot Cross Buns, traditionally eaten on Good Friday are an Easter staple. They are fairly straight-forward to make and are well worth having a go at as they’ll be much tastier than a supermarket version. These have the added bonus of another Easter staple – chocolate!

I have also topped my buns with a delicious maple glaze and of course the obligatory cross over the top which is made with a mixture of flour and water.

A couple of tips:

Yeast does not like hot liquid, so make sure that the milk and butter mixture has cooled back to room temperature before adding to the dry ingredients
Adding the chocolate chunks in after the first prove will help to keep them from melting.

Hot Cross Buns with Chocolate Chunks and Toffee Glaze

Hot cross buns just got better. Try my modern, tasty version, with cinnamon and dried fruit, as well as chocolate chunks and a delicious toffee glaze to finish them off perfectly.

Ingredients:

50 g unsalted butter
200 ml whole milk (at room temperature)
500 g strong white flour (plus a little extra for the board)
7 g fast-action dried yeast + 1 tsp sugar
50 g caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
75 g mixed peel
75 g sultanas
Zest of one orange
2 eggs (one to glaze the buns)
1 tsp vanilla bean extract or powder
A pinch of sea salt
A little vegetable oil to grease the proving bowl and tray
100 g chocolate chunks

For the crosses

100 g plain flour
2-3 tablespoons water

For the toffee glaze

55 g unsalted butter
125 g light Muscovado sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup

1. Melt the butter and leave to cool, then pour the butter into the milk and set to one side to cool.
2. Tip the yeast into a small bowl. Add a tablespoon of cold water and a teaspoon of sugar. Mix and leave to froth.
3. Sift the flour into a bowl, add the frothy yeast, caster sugar, cinnamon, mixed peel, sultanas, orange zest, one beaten egg, the vanilla and a pinch of sea salt.
4. Using a fork, stir the ingredients to combine them, then slowly add the cooled melted butter and milk mixture. The butter and milk mixture should not be hot, otherwise it will kill the yeast. Bring together using your hands until a ball of dough forms. Add a little extra milk if the dough seems dry.
5. On a floured board, knead the dough for five minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Grease a large bowl with a little oil and place the ball of dough into the bowl, covering with cling film. Leave the dough to prove in a warm place for 60 minutes.
6. After 60 minutes, the dough should have doubled in size. Tip it out onto a floured board and punch the dough back to knock out any excess air. Tip the chocolate chunks onto the dough and work them in, kneading slightly again for about a minute.
7. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll each ball into a bun shape, flattening it slightly. Lightly grease a large baking tray with oil and then lay the buns in the tray. They should be almost touching. Cover with a cloth and leave them to prove again for 30 minutes.
8. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 8.
9. To make the crosses, mix the plain flour with water and bring it together to form a dough. Knead until smooth then roll out onto a floured board. Using a knife, cut 12 long strips, around 0.5cm in thickness and then cut each strip in half to make 24 pieces. Carefully place the dough strips onto the buns and brush the tops with beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.
10. To make the toffee glaze, melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan and stir well. Take the sauce off the heat. Once the buns are baked, brush the tops with the toffee sauce and serve whilst warm.

Yeast does not like warm liquid, so make sure that the milk and butter mixture has cooled back to room temperature before adding to the dry ingredients. Adding the chocolate chunks in after the first prove will help to keep them from melting.

Dessert

British

No-Bake Crème Egg Cheesecake

Ren Behan — Fri, 10 Apr 2020 08:24:31 +0000

This is a simple no-bake, get-ahead dessert, perfect for your Easter table.

No-Bake Crème Egg Cheesecake

This is a simple no-bake, get-ahead dessert, perfect for your Easter table.

For the base

200 g digestive biscuits (crushed into very fine crumbs)
100 g melted butter (unsalted)

For the cheesecake topping

300 g full fat cream cheese
200 g Mascarpone Italian cheese
4 tbsp icing sugar
100 ml double cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 large Crème eggs (unwrapped)
3 mini Crème eggs (unwrapped, to decorate)

1. Line a 20cm springform cake tin with a circle of baking parchment. In a mixing bowl, mix the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter until you have a sandy consistency. Tip the crumbs into the tin and press down firmly with the back of a metal spoon until your base is flat. Refrigerate while you make the topping.
3. In a large mixing bowl, using a whisk, beat together the cream cheese, Mascarpone cheese and icing sugar until well combined. Add the double cream, along with the vanilla extract and whisk again.
4. Spoon the topping onto the biscuit base and smooth down with a spoon or palette knife. Carefully slice the Crème eggs in half and arrange the eggs, pushing them into the cheesecake topping, so the tops are visible. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
5. To remove the cheesecake from the tin, sit the cheesecake in some hot water (make sure it down not reach the top of the tin) and then gently unlock the sides or ease it out. Before serving, decorate the centre of the cheesecake with mini Crème eggs

Use a sharp knife dipped in boiling water when you slice the cheesecake to give you clean slices.

Dessert

Risotto Caprese with Tomato, Mozarella and Basil (Gennaro Contaldo)

Ren Behan — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 12:26:28 +0000

Ever since my trip to the Po Valley with Riso Gallo to understand more about how rice and other grains are produced in Italy, I have been obsessed with perfecting my risotto-making technique. During our visit, we ate in some truly memorable restaurants, sampling different grains and flavours of risotto, a particular highlight being a very simple aged-risotto grain, cooked with olive oil, butter and Parmesan cheese and adored with spring truffles.

Since then, making a risotto has become a weekly activity – in part prompted by the fact that all three of our children unanimously love risotto and so it’s one of the few meals that doesn’t have to be messed around with. It’s also a great, store-cupboard staple recipe. There are plenty of recipes here that you can make at home.

Of all the risotto recipe I have tried, this one, found in Gennaro Contaldo’s Fast Cook Italian is our winner – it is a Risotto Caprese – based on the flavours of the classic Caprese Salad of Tomato, Mozarella and Basil.

Contrary to the popular belief that making a risotto is time-consuming and labour intensive, you can have dinner on the table in around 25 minutes with this recipe.

I love the fact that Gennaro’s recipes are always easy to throw together and very family friendly.

Published with the permission of Pavilion Books.

Risotto Caprese – Risotto with Tomato, Mozarella and Basil

The ingredients for this risotto are taken from the classic Caprese salad – tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. Simple to make and extremely tasty, it’s often my go-to midweek meal for the family – Gennaro Contaldo

40 g/1½ oz/2 generous tbsp butter
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion (finely chopped)
2 handfuls of basil leaves
260 g/9¼ oz cherry tomatoes (quartered)
320 g/11¼ oz/1¾ cups risotto (Arborio rice)
100 ml/3½ fl oz/7 tbsp white wine
1.5 litres/52 fl oz/6½ cups hot vegetable stock (bouillon)
200 g/7 oz mozzarella (cut into small cubes)
30 g/1 oz/1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Heat 20 g/¾ oz/1 generous tablespoon of butter and the olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan set over a medium heat. Add the onion and a couple of the basil leaves and sweat for 2 minutes.
Stir in the tomatoes and continue to sweat for 1 minute. Stir in the rice, making sure each grain is coated in oil. Add the wine and cook until the rice has absorbed it.
Then add a couple of ladles of hot stock, stirring with a wooden spoon until the rice has absorbed it all. Add a couple more ladles of stock and continue to cook in this way, stirring and adding more stock, for 17–20 minutes, until the risotto is cooked al dente.
Remove from the heat and add the remaining butter and mozzarella, stirring well until it has nicely melted into the risotto.
Stir in the grated Parmesan and remaining basil leaves and serve immediately.

Main

Italian

Photography Kim Lightbody.

Gennaro’s Fast Cook Italian

From Fridge to fork in 40 minutes or less

ISBN: 9781911595113

Price: £20.00

Publication date: 5 April 2018

Polish Easter Babka

Ren Behan — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 19:10:03 +0000

A traditional, yeasted, Polish Easter Babka cake – Babka Wielkanocna

Jump straight to the recipe

I have always found Easter to be full of mystery, tradition and ritual. In some ways, the signs and symbols all around us at this time of year are simple and universal; eggs, representing new life, buds bringing with them the promise of spring. However, dig a little deeper and you’ll find theories on how the Christian celebration of Easter is said to have been influenced by the early pagan celebrations and spring fertility rituals. The name itself, Easter, is a derivative of the German Ostern. However, the Greek and Latin name for Easter is Pascha, a celebration specifically celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, though there are also symbolic and historical links to the Jewish holiday of Passover. It’s fascinating how our cultures have adapted, acquired and assimilated various rituals and traditions.

Rebirth

There are many folk customs associated with Easter, especially evident in Slavic cultures and linked to the Slavic festivals of spring. The painting and gifting of eggs, the preparation of an Easter basket, as well as the slightly more peculiar traditions of hanging a herring on a dry branch (herrings are also traditionally eaten on Good Friday and by Poles, at the Easter Sunday table) or soaking one another with water on Easter Monday.

In Poland, Easter provides the opportunity for a big feast following six weeks of Lenten fasting; churches, homes and streets are decorated with displays of colourful flowers, palms and intricately painted eggs. On Easter Saturday, Poles prepare their baskets (read more about how to make an Easter Święcone basket over on Ania’s blog here) filling them with food such as boiled and coloured or painted eggs (pisanki), ham or cured meat (kiełbasa), salt (sól) butter (masło), bread (chleb) and a sweet cake, such as a Baba or Babka. The basket is blessed by the priest on Easter Saturday and then eaten together for breakfast on Easter Sunday. Each item within the basket has a symbolic meaning – Eggs: new life or Christ’s Resurrection, Butter (often shaped into a lamb): goodwill, Kiełbasa or ham: God’s generosity, joy and abundance, Salt: necessary for life, Bread and Babka: symbolic of Jesus who is the bread of life.

The Easter traditions we look forward to the most as a family are our Polish Easter customs, particularly the preparation of the Polish Easter basket, which happens to also involve baking a traditional Babka, or a Mazurek cake, or perhaps a poppy seed roll or even a baked Easter cheesecake. Of course, in our home, the odd hot-cross bun is also consumed, the Easter bunny visits the children and even as adult, I look forward to collecting my very own stash of milk chocolate eggs – a ritual I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of.

A quote that I read today, shared by a friend, really struck a chord this morning:

“Rituals are how civilizations preserve their memory, keeping faith with those who came before us and handing on their legacy to the future.” R. Sacks

I’d love to hear how you are celebrating and if you are in the mood for a spot of Easter baking, perhaps you’ll give my Polish Easter Babka a go.

In my cookbook Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes, you can also find a recipe for Mini Lemon Babkas.

This Polish Easter Babka (Babka Wielkanocna) enriched with eggs and studded with dried fruit and raisins, has a sort of brioche-like texture. This recipe is made with yeast (the rising agent) and therefore requires two periods of proving (though no kneading) and is a lovely project to have a go at over the Easter holidays.

Polish Easter Babka

Almost every household in Poland will be enjoying a traditional Easter Babka this weekend. Usually, a small piece of the Babka (or even a whole Babka) is placed into the Easter basket, along with boiled and painted eggs, butter, ham or cured meat, salt and bread which is blessed on Easter Saturday and enjoyed for breakfast on Easter Sunday. I hope you’ll enjoy this tradition of making a Babka, and maybe even a basket over the Easter weekend.

125 ml/ 1/2 cup milk
115 g/½ cup butter (softened, plus extra for greasing the tin)
2 tsp fast action/instant yeast + 4 tsp lukewarm water + 1 tsp granulated sugar
4 large eggs
180 g/½ cup caster/fine sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla bean extract
120 g/ 1 cup all-purpose flour (ideally ‘00’ pasta flour or fine cake flour)
120 g/ 1 cup potato flour (available at the Polish shop or cornflour)
150 g/ 1 cup raisins
1 orange (peeled)
1 lemon (peeled)
Icing sugar (to dust)

In a small pan, bring the milk to the boil then take off the heat and leave to one side. Add the butter to the milk and allow it to melt.
In a jug, mix the yeast with lukewarm water and a teaspoon of sugar. Stir or whisk until dissolved and set to one side. It should begin to bubble.
In a stand mixer or a large bowl, beat the eggs for five minutes until creamy to incorporate lots of air. Add the caster sugar, a pinch of salt and vanilla and mix well. Add the milk and butter mixture, along with the dissolved yeast and mix well. Stir in the flour, raisins and orange and lemon peel and mix to combine.
Cover the bowl with cling-film and leave in a warm place for an hour – first rise.
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Grease your cake tin well with plenty of butter.
Carefully pour the dough into the tin, cover again and leave for 30-40 minutes – second rise.
Remove the cling-film and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. The Babka should be golden and a cake tester should come out clean.
Leave the Babka to cool in the tin. Once cool enough to handle, transfer it out onto a plate and dust with icing sugar. The Babka will keep well in a tin for up to 2 days.

Dessert

Polish

Happy Spring!

Polish Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce

Ren Behan — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 16:34:29 +0000

This is one of my favourite recipes from my cookbook Wild Honey and Rye for Polish Meatballs in a Mushroom Sauce, which you can find on page 118.

I serve my meatballs with a light cucumber, sour cream and dill salad and a grated beetroot salad. There’s no need for potatoes, although my Mama would serve hers with potatoes (the apple mashed potatoes on page 85 or the new potatoes with butter and dill on page 89) both work really well. Small meatballs in Poland are known as kotleciki or pulpety, larger ones are called kotlety mielone.

Image Credit: Yuki Sugiura for Pavilion Books

Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes is available in the UK here, published by Pavilion Books.

The first American edition is also available for in the US here and will be published by Interlink Books in March 2018.

Thank you for all your support!

Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce and a Cucumber Salad

This recipe, in Polish called Kotleciki mielone z sosem grzybowym i mizerią, was one of the first recipes I asked my Mama to write down for me when I was leaving for university. Polish meatballs were a dish she would very often make for supper, served with mashed potatoes and grated beetroot or with a cucumber and sour cream salad on the side. Traditionally, Polish meatballs are coated in breadcrumbs or flour, but I leave mine as they are to lighten them up a little. This is a wonderfully comforting, family dish.

For the meatballs:

125 ml/ 1/2 cup beef stock
2 tbsp vegetable oil (plus more for frying)
1 red onion (finely chopped)
400 g/14oz minced beef
400 g/14oz minced pork
1 egg (beaten)
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp dried parsley
2 slices bread (preferably sourdough rye, soaked in water)
Freshly ground black pepper

For the mushroom sauce:

1 tsp butter
1 small onion (peeled and finely chopped)
250 g / 2 1/2 cups white mushrooms (cleaned and sliced)
½ lemon (juiced)
½ vegetable or chicken stock cube
250 ml/ 1 cup single or light cream

For the Mizeria cucumber salad:

1 large cucumber (peeled and sliced)
1 tbsp sea salt
125 ml/ 1/2 cup sour cream
Small bunch fresh dill (finely chopped)

For the beetroot salad:

4 large cooked beets (grated)
1/2 red onion (finely chopped)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lemon (juiced or 1 tsp white wine vinegar)
1 tbsp light olive oil
2 tbsp fresh dill (chopped)
Pinch of sugar (optional)

For the meatballs, firstly, make up the beef stock cube with hot water and leave to cool. Fry the red onion in a splash of oil for 5 minutes until softened. Leave to cool.
In a large bowl, combine the mince, egg, mustard and parsley. Pour in the cooled beef stock and tip in the onions. Tear or crumble the soaked bread into small pieces, add to the meat. Season the mixture with pepper and combine everything thoroughly with a clean fork.
Keep a separate, smaller bowl of cold water by your side to wet your hands. Take small amounts of the mixture, roughly a tablespoonful, and shape into small balls – about the size of golf balls. Flatten slightly and arrange on a board. Between making each meatball, dip your hands in the cold water, to prevent stickiness. You should have enough mixture for 12 meatballs.
Heat a wide-based frying pan (preferably non-stick) with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. In batches, fry the meatballs for 4 minutes, until golden all over. Remove onto a clean plate and continue with the rest.
Once they are browned, put the meatballs back into the pan, add 2 tablespoons cold water, shake the pan around a little, cover with a tight-fitting lid or foil, and simmer on a low heat to cook for 10 minutes.
For the mushroom sauce, in a separate frying pan, cook the onion in the butter for 5 minutes until soft. Add the mushrooms, squeeze over the lemon juice and cook for a further 5 minutes. Crumble in the stock cube, add half a cup of water and simmer for 2 minutes. Add the cream and stir well. Set to one side or pour over the meatballs in the pan to keep warm.
For the cucumber salad, place the cucumber into a sieve or colander and sprinkle over the salt. Leave it to drain for 20 minutes – the salt will bring out lots of water and the cucumber will turn slightly darker in colour. Drain well, using clean hands to squeeze out any excess water and transfer the cucumber slices to a clean bowl. Stir through the sour cream and the fresh dill.
For the beetroot salad, mix the grated beetroot with the red onion, salt, and pepper. Add the lemon juice or vinegar, olive oil, and dill and mix well. Taste the salad and, if you like, sweeten it slightly with a pinch of sugar. Serve straight away with the meatballs, sauce and cucumber salad.

Recipes extracted from Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes by Ren Behan, published by Pavilion Books, with permission. Recipe image credit: Yuki Sugiura.

Main

Polish

A Polish Christmas Eve from Wild Honey and Rye

Ren Behan — Sun, 24 Dec 2017 01:07:28 +0000

Christmas is almost here! Here in the UK, we are looking forward to beginning our family celebrations on Christmas Eve when we share a vigil meal, called Wigilia, according to the Polish tradition. This is a meal we all look forward to every year, in fact, it is really the highlight of our year. As a second-generation Pole who has grown up with dual-cultural heritage, both British and Polish, my respect for keeping this tradition is steadfast. I have grown up sensing how important Christmas Eve was for my parents and grandparents and indeed, the many generations of Poles before them. I now love explaining and sharing all the elements of the Christmas Eve meal with our children, which helps them to understand why the preservation of tradition and cultural heritage is so important.

Although there isn’t specifically a chapter on Christmas in my cookbook Wild Honey and Rye, the Christmas Eve meal is mentioned in a few of the recipes throughout. This is a meal full of symbolism and significance, with the preparation almost certainly beginning the day before; the meal traditionally being made up of twelve courses representing the twelve apostles. We lay hay underneath the tablecloth to remind us that Jesus was born in the manger and we always set a spare place for the unknown or unexpected guest. There are other theories in this fascinating article here, including the idea that we set out a place for those who are no longer with us. Very often over the years we have actually had unexpected guests knocking at the door and this has always added to our respect for keeping the custom of setting an extra place. Other customs include beginning the meal when the first star appears in the sky, which is said to represent the star of Bethlehem. Before the food is served, we share a blessed wafer called opłatek, with each person present exchanging greetings and good wishes with one another for the year ahead.

Christmas Eve Beetroot Soup, called barszcz wigilijny (front right) is always made with a vegetable stock, as the meal must be meatless. Page 74, Wild Honey and Rye, Photo Yuki Sugiura

The twelve dishes themselves (all meatless) include ingredients from the forest, sea, field and orchard. Hence, there are plenty of dishes with forest mushrooms, such as mushroom soup or beetroot soup called barszcz czerwony or borscht, served with little mushroom-filled dumplings, lots of fish, including carp, cod and herrings from the Baltic sea. From the field, the dough for our pierogi or Polish dumplings is made with wheat flour and we drink a fruit compote made from apples from the orchard and other fruits. We end the meal, significantly fuller, with apple cake, Makowiec, which is a poppy seed roll, a traditional Polish cheesecake and Pierniczki, Polish Spiced Christmas Biscuits. At the end of the meal, we sing Christmas carols and exchange gifts.

If you know anybody Polish and have talked to them about our Christmas Eve meal, you’ll have almost certainly heard stories about live fish, specifically carp, swimming around in the bathtub. Thankfully, this is a practice that is much less common now and whilst fish is a big feature of the Christmas Eve meal, our family has always favoured cod and salmon from the fishmonger!

In Wild Honey and Rye, there is a simple recipe for Herrings in Cold-Pressed Linseed Oil, but you can also buy herrings in oil. Serving suggestions include herrings with green apple and honey, herrings with red onion and chives or herrings with sour cream – always served with a good Polish rye bread. If you don’t fancy the aforementioned carp, you could always try my Pan-Roasted Cod with Leeks and Cream, or my favourite fish recipe, the Baked Bream with Dill Butter Sauce.

This year’s Wigilia will be extra-special for me, owing to the fact that I have had lots of messages from people telling me that they are going to be attempting their first Polish Christmas guided by some of the recipes in Wild Honey and Rye. My Mama Alicja will be firmly at our pierogi-making helm, but my sister Basia is going to be following some of the recipes over with her family in America (we miss you!) and my English family friend Carla is bravely attempting twelve courses for her Polish in-laws. We’re with you, Carla. Many of you have said you’ll be taking a dish along as a contribution to a Wigilia meal you have been have been invited to. Polish home cooks are known for wanting to do absolutely everything themselves, but I am sure your host will appreciate anything that you bring. If you have Polish neighbours or friends, they will love it if you wish them a Happy Christmas Eve, or Wigilia, pronounced as Vigilia.

Genuinely, that some of you may be cooking from Wild Honey and Rye has made me feel so very grateful for the opportunity I have had to share some of our family recipes in the book. I am so thankful to my Mama not only for passing the recipes on, but also for celebrating this tradition in the way that she has with all of us over the years. It beats last-minute Christmas shopping, brings the whole family together and weaves some very special customs and traditions into Christmas. The extra place at the table will comfort us when thinking of loved ones gone. My father Longin and Grandma Babcia Tekla, both always looked forward to Wigilia with the family.

I always look forward to my Mama’s pierogi the most on Christmas Eve, when they are filled with sauerkraut or cabbage with mushrooms, or with potato and twaróg cheese. The master recipe and both fillings are in the book. There is also a recipe here on Great British Chefs and here on Lucy’s blog – the cream and mushroom filling would be perfect for a Polish Christmas Eve. Some people also like to serve meatless gołabki, or stuffed Cabbage Rolls, shown below with barley and mushrooms. The forest and field element is strong in these dishes!

If we make it to dessert, traditionally we have a makowiec, which is a yeasted poppy seed roll, or an apple cake, called Szarlotka or a baked cheesecake. I’ll actually be making this baked cheesecake with lemon and poppyseed. There is also a baked cheesecake with raisins in Wild Honey and Rye on page 182.

Incidentally, for Poles, the day after Christmas Eve is known as the Second day of Christmas, with duck or goose being popular. We stick to a very traditional British turkey on Christmas Day with all the trimmings.

And so, Christmas is here again and what a year it has been. Thank you to everyone who has supported my adventures with Wild Honey and Rye, and thank you also if you have bought it as a Christmas gift or are cooking from it this Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas, however you celebrate. I’m signing off to go and help in the kitchen.

A very special thank you also to Pavilion Books and to Yuki Sugiura for the images. Styling by Rebecca Woods and Alexander Breeze.

Travel: Adventures with Riso Gallo in Italy

Ren Behan — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 21:30:41 +0000

Earlier this year, I travelled to Lombardy and Piedmont in Italy to visit Riso Gallo, the Italian family business established in 1856, spanning 6 generations, where I learnt about rice and grains from the best in the business. Allow me to take you with me on our Po Valley adventures in rice as I daydream about my perfect Italian escape.

Italy has always provided me with the most stunning backdrop for an adventure, with good food and hospitality permeating each and every one of my visits. I have wonderfully hazy memories of travelling by train to the Southern Italian coast from Rome, stopping at Naples and journeying onward to Capri, Positano and the Amalfi Coast just ahead of getting married in 2006. Florence has also been enjoyed and explored and more recently, we embarked on a family trip to Venice, driving down towards Bologna, to San Piero, where my sister lived until recently, in the region of Emilia-Romagna. The children declared Italy as the land of pizza, pasta and gelato, whist we enjoyed noting nuances in regionality, landscape and the ever-friendly people. Northern Italy, particularly Milan and the surrounding areas, was next on my travel list and so I was delighted to receive an invitation earlier this year to the Po Valley, to visit Gallo, the Italian family business established in 1856, known internationally as Riso Gallo. Whenever Italy comes calling, whether for family, food writing or pleasure, I never say no to Prosecco. I also had a feeling that learning all about risotto and visiting the waterscapes and paddy fields of Italy, would be the perfect prelude for the busy few books months I knew were ahead of me.

Riso Gallo are among the oldest Italian rice growers and they have become one of Italy’s most best-known food companies. Their headquarters are located in Robbio, in the Pavese region in Northern Italy. The origins of the company date back to 1856, with a factory in Genoa that processed imported paddy rice and exported it to South America. They also owned a factory in Argentina, from which they supplied the Argentinian market. By 1926, having accumulated a good deal of knowledge and expertise, the company decided to focus on Italian crops, and their factory was moved to from Genoa to Robbio Lomellina, in the heart of Italy’s rice-growing region. Italian rice is mostly grown across the plains of Lombardy and in Piedmont. Having spanned six generations, Riso Gallo is currently led by Mario Preve, the current President of Riso Gallo, S.p.A, with the assistance of his four sons.

Our flight from London to Milan was delayed, providing myself and some food-loving colleagues with just enough time to have a glass or three of champagne and a bowl of pasta at the airport. All good press trips must, in future, begin in this way, since it made for a very good beginning indeed.

Our first stop on arrival, was dinner at Osteria Cascina dei Fiori, in Borgo Vercelli, Piemonte, favoured by the Preve/Riso Gallo family and hailed by the Guido Gallo – or the Gallo Guide. I was instantly reminded of why I adore Italy; faultless and attentive service, rustic elegance, and simple, seasonal ingredients. At dinner, we were introduced to Carlo Preve, the MD of the Riso Gallo International Brand and son of Mario Preve and our introduction to world of Gallo began. After dinner, we decamped to the Hotel Novarello, which often finds itself playing host to the Italian football team. We, of course, didn’t look for any Italian football players, being so tired after our flight and first Italian supper.

The next morning, we headed out to Riso Gallo’s headquarters in Robbio, outside of Milan. We arrived just in time for their daily morning inspection of risotto rice grains, called prova risi. Every day, a sample is taken from a selection of batches and is manually inspected by a team of specialists, checking the quality and character of each variety.

I learnt that not all risotto rice is equal and that there are distinctions amongst the grains which form the different parts of the Gallo range.

For instance, Carnaroli is known as the king of risotto rice. Arborio is favoured by home cooks, whilst the Gran Riserva variety, aged for a year and produced in limited quantities, is the one favoured by chefs. The Originario variety, which is a smaller, round grain can be used in soups and in arancini, whilst the Roma variety responds well to being oven-baked. Gallo’s Blond risotto is another grain which has a more golden, blonde colour. It cooks in a shorter time (12 minutes) and is least prone to overcooking. The grains remain separate and are ideal served ‘al dente’.

With Gallo being the premier brand in the Italian rice market, their levels of knowledge and expertise is something that the family are fiercely proud of and keen to protect. We were given a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour of the brand’s headquarters by Carlo Preve and had the opportunity of asking questions and of seeing the process for ourselves. Although Gallo are leaders in their industry when it comes to modern technology and sophistication, the stone husking method that they use is the same as it was 100 years ago. The husking is still done to a traditional stone system, which allows for a gentler abrasion of the grain, which preserves its nutritional and gastronomic values.

Within the business, there are systems and standards, research teams, sensory and development laboratories, nutritionists and innovators. Mario’s four sons, Carlo included, hold six generations of history in their hands and along with global representatives, advocate for the brand which finds itself in 80 countries around the world. Every grain of rice matters and every consumer, whether Italian or otherwise, is constantly kept in mind when advancing Gallo’s mission to continue to be the best champions of risotto and rice in the world. There is tradition and there is modernity; the brand is conscious of both its history and of its role in providing people with a key staple, but is also turning its fined-tuned attention to developing ranges showcasing alternative grains for healthier living.

After the tour of the headquarters, we were taken to one of the regions rice markets. This is where all the deals are done, a bit like a stock exchange, only that the currency is rice. The brokers bring grains directly from the farmers, wrapped in brown paper, stashed in leather bags, to be examined and valued by the buyers. Gallo sells to the seed to the farmers, who grow the rice and then sell it back to Gallo who then mill it and package it. The tradition of valuing the rice based on its quality ensures a fair price and a consistent quality of product. There are of course other rice producers and brands, though Gallo are the leading company in the domestic market in Italy and competition is fierce. An espresso here, a bag of Arborio there, a number of livelihoods dependent on the day’s deals.

There are seasons, too. The seed is sown in April and is harvested in September. Fluctuations in weather can have a huge impact on production and although the Po Valley usually provides the optimal growing conditions, the temperature was uncharacteristically hot when we visited.

Outside the rice market, in the sweltering heat, more precious cargo was revealed; hefty onions, purple beans, glistening aubergines, formaggio. This is the food of the land, the surrounding rice fields punctuated by small agricultural holdings and and dairy farms; the market weaving together all that is good in the Province of Pavia.

After the market, we were taken to lunch at Ristorante Antoerobi back in Robbio, where a bespoke meal was created using Gallo rice for us. The Preve family are so well known in this region that they have streets named after them, such as Via Riccardo Preve. It was so hot I think we had all lost track of time, but I do recall arriving at the restaurant that appeared like an oasis in the desert…and not wanting to leave.

For lunch, of course risotto and we enjoyed at least five courses along with lots of water and wine to cool us down. The risotto dishes included a refreshingly cold starter of lemon risotto with calamari, an intermediate dish of Gallo’s 3 grains (rice, spelt and barley) cooked with chicken and dill, which I immediately came home to recreate. Onwards, an exceptionally good and perfectly creamy risotto with fresh truffles and a taste of one of Riso Gallo’s curry varieties. The curry risotto was most surprisingly delicious, though not yet available in the UK.

Dessert was made with Riso Gallo’s dessert rice, a creamy rice pudding served with a strawberry compote. The dishes, cooked by the owner’s wife, succeeded in showcasing the variety of grains that the Gallo produce and each and every mouthful was a delight.

We finished off with espresso and a few shots of homemade limocello, served by the owner, a particularly lovely man who had broken his arm in a motorbike incident. There was also a very impressive selection of other homemade spirits and lots of rum on offer. I’ll be going back…

After lunch, we sort of pulled ourselves together, re-spray-tanned ourselves with mosquito repellent and were taken to see the paddy fields and a traditional rice farmhouse, known as a Cascina, where ancient farming traditions still exist with rice farmers cultivating, rotating crops, growing, harvesting and selling. The landscape was very flat, which is why, of course, the fields lend themselves so well to rice farming across the fertile, swampy plains.

Piecing the day together, I realised that we had sort of done the ‘rice to table’ process in reverse – beginning with the finished grains themselves, experiencing the rice markets, eating the grains for lunch and ending up in the paddy fields. No matter, it was an education and a privilege to see the many parts of the process that make up a day in the life of the Gallo family business.

No trip to Northern Italy would have been complete without a stopover in Milan itself and I had always wanted to experience the elaborate façade and gothic architecture of the Duomo di Milan. We checked into the Hotel Cavour and after a traditional Italian Aperitivo, we meandered through the streets, via the Piazza del Duomo and onto one of the city’s most glamorous dinner spots – Maio Restaurant, which was simply the most stunning setting to round off our adventures with Gallo. I tried my first vitello al tonnno and we drank Aperol spritz whilst taking in the stunning sights of the duomo. It really, really made me want to live in Italy.

Which rice or grain to chose at home?

Italian rice includes risotto, Jasmin, long grain, brown rice, black rice and basmati varieties, though the company also now produce and bring together other grains, too, such as spelt, barley and quinoa.

You can read more about Rice and Nutrition here.

This is my pick of the top risotto and other grains in the Gallo range:

Carnaroli

The king of risotto rice. This grain has a starchy content and firm texture. Considered to be the best rice for risotto.

Arborio

Large grain with a creamy texture; therefore, ideal for creamy risottos.

Gran Riserva

This is aged for one year in aerated silos, before being milled. It is produced in limited quantities and subjected to a very strict selection process. Only one grain in three become Gran Riserva. This is also a grain most favoured by chefs, because of its cooking resistance and quality of absorption.

Brown Rice

Gallo also produce a medium-sized, lightly tapered brown grain. It is parboiled and retains a perfectly cooked ‘al dente’ texture. Brown rice contains more fibre than risotto rice.

3 Grains

A mix of parboiled rice, spelt and barley with full bodied, firm grains. This was my favourite of the new varieties produced by Gallo because the barley and spelt in particular, provide an ancient cereal source of fibre.

Try my recipe for 3 Grains with Chicken, Courgette and Dill here, inspired by the version we ate at Ristorante AntoeRobi.

If you are new to making risotto, you can start with one of Gallo’s Risotto Pronto ranges. These grains are parboiled and flavoured. We sometimes enjoy the four cheese or the porcini mushroom flavour at home. Or you could read my article on How to rustle up a basic risotto over on JamieOliver.com.

Look out for the Gallo Nature range which is now available in the UK in light green packaging, including the ‘3 Grain’ Rice, Barley and Spelt variety (RRP £2.35 for 400g) that I tried in Italy, as well as a ‘Pronto’ or quick range – the Gallo Risotto Pronto Carrot, Tomato & Hazelnut is really tasty (RRP £1.99 for 175g)

3 Grain Risotto with Chicken and Dill

Ren Behan — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 15:31:43 +0000

I travelled as part of a press trip to Milan in Italy to visit Gallo, the Italian family business, established in 1856 and spanning 6 generations, to learn about rice and grains from the best in the business. This is one of the recipes I tried in Italy, using Gallo’s 3 Grain variety, with rice, spelt and barley, which I came home to re-create.

3 Grains (Rice, Spelt and Barley) with Chicken and Dill

A perfect balance of three cereal varieties, this recipe uses Riso Gallo 3 Grains, Italian Rice, Spelt and Pearl Barley – all with the same cooking time – just 18 minutes. This is a healthier alternative to a traditional risotto dish as it is higher in fibre.

Olive oil
300 g Riso Gallo 3 Grains (Rice, Barley & Spelt)
1 white onion (peeled chopped)
1 carrot (peeled, finely chopped)
1 stick celery (peeled, chopped)
1 courgette (chopped)
250 g cooked chicken breast (chopped or shredded)
A splash of white wine or water
Fresh dill
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Tip in the ‘3 grains’ and cook for 18 minutes. If using the pre-cooked 3 Grains ‘express’ variety, you can skip this step.
In the meantime, place a large frying pan onto a medium heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, add the onion and cook for five minutes until translucent. Add the carrots and celery and continue cooking.
Once the vegetables have softened, add the courgette and chicken and cook for a further 5-6 minutes, adding a splash or wine or water to the pan.
Drain the 3 grains, rinse and add them into the pan (or tip in a pre-cooked packet of grains).
Drizzle over a little more olive oil, stir and coat all the grains and season with sea salt and black pepper. Ensure the chicken is piping hot.
Serve, adding a little dill.

The dish can also be chilled and served cold, as a salad.

Pumpkin (or Butternut) Soup with Kefir and Poppy Seeds

Ren Behan — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 17:06:20 +0000

You can make this soup with fresh pumpkin, or butternut squash. Kefir is a gut-friendly dairy produce, but you can swirl fresh cream or sour cream through this soup, too. If you’re vegan, you can follow exactly the same recipe, but swap the kefir for some vegan/soy yoghurt instead and be sure to use a vegan-friendly, vegetable stock.

Aside from being packed full of fresh veggies, most of the other ingredients you’ll find in the store cupboard – red lentils, stock, a tin of tomatoes or passata and since I had a packet of poppy seeds open from making a Plum and Poppy Seed traybake, I sprinkled some over the finished soup, but the roasted seeds or any other seeds would be nice too.

Pumpkin Soup with Kefir and Poppy Seeds

Whip up this simple and healthy seasonal pumpkin soup (or use squash) for the perfect autumnal bowl of comfort for lunch or as a light supper. Add a drizzle of kefir for a dose of healthy probiotic and a sprinkle of poppy seeds for a bit of crunch.

1 tbsp olive oil
2 white onions (peeled, halved)
700 g pumpkin or squash (peeled, de-seeded and chopped into cubes)
2 carrots (peeled, chopped)
1 stick celery (washed)
200 g/1 cup red lentils
1 x 400g tin tomatoes or tomato passata
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
Sea salt and black pepper
200 ml kefir (cultured milk drink or use natural yoghurt)
1 tsp poppy seeds per bowl

Take a large 24cm pan or stock pot, add the olive oil and heat. Add the onions and fry until slightly softened and golden brown.
Add the pumpkin, carrots and celery, stir well and continue to cook for 5 minutes.
Add the red lentils, tomatoes/passata and stock to the pan. Ensure everything is covered with stock, if not, add a cupful more of water.
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes until all the vegetables are soft (the carrots will take the longest to cook).
Season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Allow the soup to cool a little and then use a stick blender to blend the soup, or transfer into a jug blender (you may need to blend in two batches)
Serve the soup with a drizzle of kefir and sprinkle over some poppy seeds, or other seeds of your choice.

The happy launch of Wild Honey and Rye and how to party like a Pole!

Ren Behan — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 14:04:21 +0000

A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who has supported me this month…

Hooray – 7^th September 2017 saw the launch of Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes, my debut cookbook published by Pavilion Books. This is a day I will never forget because it was the day a very big dream became real. If you believe in numerology, there is great significance in the number seven; there are seven days in a week, Newton identified the seven colours of a rainbow, September means the seventh month in Latin. Seven years ago, in September 2010, I had just enrolled in an online Diploma in Food Journalism. Shortly afterwards, in November 2010, I started this blog as one of my first assignments.

Photo Credit: Stephanie Belton Photography

Although I haven’t always appreciated it, symbolism, it seems, is quite important to me. I chose to be published by Pavilion Books because our first meeting had taken place in a room opposite my old lecture halls in Bloomsbury – a sign I took as being on the right path. As often as possible and particularly when I have a significant decision ahead of me, I try and go with my instinct and I look for signs as reassurance that I’m heading in the right direction. It was all very surreal and overwhelming, as big moments usually are. On that particular day in November 2015, as I left Pavilion’s offices with bright blue skies beaming over me, I remember strolling past Senate House Library and past my first student halls feeling a strong sense of going back to something as well as forwards into something new. Of course, I wasn’t to know then that the offer of a publishing contract would come, but I hoped that it would and of course, as Wild Honey and Rye now shows, it did.

I wrote about the cookbook process itself here in an earlier post. Aside form having no roof at the time, the process was mostly straightforward and hugely enjoyable. Throughout, I kept in mind that all my food heroes, from Elizabeth Luard to Nigella Lawson must have started somewhere and that they wouldn’t be where they are today had they not just kept moving forwards. I also kept in mind that there would be some people who liked the book and some who wouldn’t. I hoped and prayed that it would be positively received and so far there has been a stream of bright and cheerful 5* Amazon reviews (thank you!) and heaps of positivity all round. It seems Polish food can be exciting and inspiring and cool, who knew?!

The amazing team from Pavilion Books, with photographer Yuki Sugiura and Home Economist Becci Woods and my lovely literary agent Heather Holden Brown.

Time to Party like a Pole…

Publication day itself was really like taking a big deep breathe and then exhaling. I was nervous, yes, but excited more. There was joy and elation and giddiness and champagne (and vodka) but in the quieter moments, I was just so happy to have been able to share my Polish food through Wild Honey and Rye.

My Mum came to spend the week with us, which was lucky because it also coincided with the madness of back-to-school week. My family and original antenatal group friends came over to eat Polish food. A week later, I hosted a gathering at my favourite Modern Eastern European restaurant called Baltic in London, where the chef Marek made some canapés to tie in with the book and where barman Karol created a divine Polish plum and chilli martini to mark the occasion. Katie at Pavilion Books gave a speech that made me cry and I was very spoilt with gifts of flowers, champagne and even food styling props. It was like all my birthdays rolled into one!

I was so grateful for all the friends came along to celebrate with me, including my oldest school friends from Cheshire, friends with a Polish connection, buddies from the online and blogging world – travelling even as far as from Newcastle and of course, the whole book crew from Pavilion as well as the shoot team, minus Alexander who we missed.

When I decided not to return to the law ten years ago, I can honestly say that I didn’t expect my second career to be anything near as exciting as this one has turned out to be. I saw every glass raised during the whole month as an opportunity for me to say thank you to those who have supported me throughout my journey.

It’s fair to say I have been overwhelmed by the response to the book so far. Readers up and down the land (as far as the Shetland Isles!) have been making pierogi (Polish dumplings) sourcing Polish cheese or creating their own fillings. Young people have been baking and achieving Scout badges for their efforts. One little girl, a third generation Pole, said that she baked my Plum and Poppyseed cake and that it was as good as her Babcia (or Granny) makes – phew. Many have identified with my dual-heritage upbringing and have said that it has helped them put put their own upbringing into context, others have said it has helped them to reconnect with Polish food. Some have booked trips to Poland. One reader shared a photo of the book arriving in Hawaii, another friend took a photo of Wild Honey and Rye in Omnivore Books in San Francisco. Lots of people have also commented on the beautiful design of the book and on the light and modern photography. Every single photo and message I have received has made me bounce with joy – thank you.

I was also super happy to receive some very special press coverage. delicious magazine selected Wild Honey and Rye as one of four September ‘Hot new cookbooks’ and Sainsbury’s are running a series of four recipes in their autumn edition of Bake Magazine. I was interviewed by Brin Best for Tydzień Polski newspaper (extended version here) which is one of the oldest running Polish newspapers in London. There were mentions in The Herald, Scotland by Sumayya and on a new blog called Polish at Heart by my friend, Ania. I took my book and some plum cake onto Nick’s afternoon show on BBC Three Counties Radio. I also received a very nice letter from the Polish Ambassador in London, to say that he would welcome Wild Honey and Rye into his culinary collection. There’s a special mention below to all my food blogging friends, too, who blew me away.

The 10th St Albans Food and Drink Festival and Street Cafe Supper Club

Locally, September was an amazing month too because we celebrated the 10th St Albans Food and Drink Festival. I had lots of support from Becky ‘The Local Foodie’ at the Herts Advertiser, as well as from the Food Festival team itself and Radio Verulam. I hosted my first Wild Honey and Rye supper-club at Street Cafe (a huge thank you to Rita and the team there) and conquered my fears of cooking live during my first cookery stage demo.

I have lots more exciting events in the planning so keep an eye on my shop and events page for more info.

Thank you to all who came along!

And so now, I find myself, once again, sitting at my kitchen table, catching up with my blog and feeling so, so grateful. This space has very often been my window out into the world, as well as a little window into my world. If I look to the very beginning of my journey into food writing, almost seven years ago, I can see that there has been one key factor which has encouraged me to continue and that is the sense of community and support that I have felt very strongly whenever I shared a recipe, experience or my thoughts. Without that sense of community, whether prompted by way of a comment from a reader, or a share by a fellow blogger, I wouldn’t have felt compelled to continue.

The Amazing UK Blogging Community

I was particularly touched by the fact that some of my best blogging pals rallied around me on publication day and during the weeks that followed. They sent messages of support and looked forward to receiving the book to cook from and review. Often, when I have sat here, in between nap-times and nursery runs, very much feeling the quietness, these writers have inspired me to keep my blog going. Their posts also showcase, I believe, the standard that British blogging has reached – that there should be such beautiful photography throughout and such very kind words within and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you in upcoming posts.

Join me next week for the Wild Honey and Rye Polish Cookalong!

More Recipes:

If you’d like to try some recipes from Wild Honey and Rye, you can find three of my favourite recipes over on Great British Chefs:

Pierogi Ruskie (with Cheese and Potatoes)

Kopytka Polish Gnocchi with Bacon and Mushrooms

Krupnik Honey Vodka

Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes published by Pavilion Books is currently available on Amazon for £13.60 – grab your copy now and join us next week for the cookalong!

Thank you for your support (and for buying the book and leaving reviews) and to all at Pavilion Books for their faith in my Polish recipes and for producing such a beautiful cookery book.

I think I’ll have a little rest now…

The Story of Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes

Ren Behan — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 06:44:28 +0000

“If you’re curious about the world, then food is a wonderfully satisfying way of approaching it because all human experience can be investigated through the food that appears on your plate. There’s always a story.” Matthew Fort

I can hardly believe it, but the time has finally come for me to sit down, relax and tell you all about the story of my first cookbook, Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes, published by Pavilion Books. There have been some early copies spotted around bookshops this week (this book is clearly too eager to get out into the big wide world!) but the official publication date is Thursday 7^th September 2017.

Photo Credits: Yuki Sugiura Photography for Pavilion Books

The Journey

It would be very nice to simply say that I was sitting here writing about food one day, when a big hand came down from the sky, pointed to me and said: “You have been chosen to write a book!” The reality is that it takes a lot of hard work, perseverance and an unwavering (bordering on stubborn) belief in your idea. Basically, you’re working against the odds. I’ve no doubt, that a little bit of luck comes into it, too. More on that, later.

I probably first started thinking, or daydreaming about writing a cookbook back in 2011 when I first took some Polish food onto Weekend Kitchen at BBC Three Counties Radio and the host said, “This is delicious, you should write a cookbook.” It sounded like a good idea at the time, although a little overwhelming as I was only just starting out as a food writer.

Photo Credit: Yuki Sugiura for Pavilion Books

I had grown up eating Polish food because both sides of my family, maternal and paternal came from Poland. My father fought with the Polish Armed Forces in the West and we were brought up speaking Polish, marking Polish traditions and playing an active role within the Polish diaspora of Manchester where lots of Poles settled following the Polish Re-Settlement Act of 1947. Whilst Polish food seemed so obvious to me, to the outside world, Polish food was still classified as a ‘lesser known’ cuisine.

My ideas simmered away, but my blog work and other freelance writing work were also picking up pace. There was just so much to write about and so many ideas buzzing around in my head. A few mainstream magazines featured one or two of my Polish recipes and it took me a couple of years to finish off the Diploma in Food Journalism that I had started alongside my blog, once I had stepped away from the law.

In 2013, I took a really enjoyable course with Xanthe Clay and Vanessa Kimbell, helpfully called: How to Write a Write and Publish a Recipe Book. We all sat around a big table, eating Rachel’s ‘Sugar Moon’ chocolate brownies and talking about our ideas. After the course, I felt I had a better and more structured idea of how to write a proposal at least, if not a whole book. As an avid reader and collector of cookbooks, it was also becoming apparent that there was a lot to consider. It was once thing to have a good idea, but there was also the question of making it different and unique without being too niche, of building a platform and an audience and of finding someone who believed in my idea as much as I did.

In 2014, our third baby was born and by then, whilst I was still keeping the blog going, I had put all my dreams of writing a book to one side. I was regularly writing a features column for JamieOliver.com now, lots of other freelance commissions were coming my way and we were just about to embark on a house remodel/renovation project that had also been in the planning for about five years prior. It didn’t seem sensible, with three young children and no roof, to add anything else into the mix.

Just before our building work began, I was selected to be a Judge for the Guild of Food Writers Awards and suddenly, my living room was filled with over 100 cookbooks – in addition to the hundreds of cookbooks I already owned. We were supposed to be de-cluttering ahead of the build, but instead I became immersed. I cooked from them whilst the windows and doors were being ripped out, I conferred with fellow judges and a winner was selected. I looked forward to escaping the dust to attend the Guild’s annual party. Whilst I loved each and every single book that made it into my top ten list, there was my ever-growing niggle; Polish food hadn’t been represented. It was still undiscovered, there were still misperceptions and there was so much I wanted to say.

Photo Credit: Yuki Suguira for Pavilion Books

The turning point

At the Guild’s party, by chance, I was introduced to Heather Holden-Brown, who, as it turned out, was a literary agent. It was Heather who turned to me and said, “Ren, my love, you have to write this book.” That week, she took me under her wing and I signed with HHB Agency. This was the dose of luck I referred to earlier. Being in the right place, at the right time. Without Heather, there would be no Wild Honey and Rye. I now had an extra level of accountability – I didn’t want to let Heather down.

If truth be told, I would have been quite busy enough at this point with my freelance work and dealing with seeing our house being rebuilt. I remember pushing our youngest in a pushchair through the rubble so that I could advise on whether a wall should come down, or ringing my husband, Ed, who was also juggling too many things, to say the wrong wall had been pulled down.

On another personal note, my father, now in his 90s had passed away that year, so things were a bit foggy. Heather had given me the summer to gather my thoughts. I took a deep breath and started again with my proposal, which became something of a PhD, over 50 pages in length and filled to the brim with as many facts and figures I could find to support my idea. I had it professionally proof-read and sent it to Dianne Jacob, who wrote the first book on food writing I had read called Will Write for Food because I still had the lingering fear my draft wasn’t good enough. I also read ‘Big Magic’ by Elizabeth Gilbert – highly recommended if you’re battling with personal fears or creative blocks. I created visual story-boards to back up my ideas, with pictures of honey and food images that I particularly liked. Things were starting to feel very different and there was increasing interest in my Polish recipes.

In November 2015, two of my friends were going to Warsaw and they had found a really cool flat to stay in with a spare third bedroom. I looked at the chaos around me and simply said: “I’m going to Poland.” I don’t even think there was a discussion. Ever-supportive of my crazy plans, Ed took up the reins and off I flew for three days. It was mid-November and they sky was grey, everywhere. I wasn’t expecting much from Warsaw. Some time to myself perhaps. A wander around. A visit to the monument of the 1^st Polish Armoured Division that my father had fought with during the Second World War. I was looking forward to cheering for my friend Aggie, who was running in the Independence Day race.

Though I had been to Poland many times before, to family in Wrocław and Kraków and on school trips to Zakopane in the Tatra Mountains, my last visit to Warsaw had been during my 20s whilst at university to write a dissertation on NATO. My memories were hazy and I didn’t even stay for as long as I should have done. I was too eager to get back to my flat and job and friends in London. Polish food cooked by Mama was tastier back in the UK, and at home we didn’t have to queue for bread. All my earlier trips to Poland had been marred with sadness, or post-communism, or lack – although the food had always been good and my family always seemed to have a knack of pulling together something out of nothing.

During my 2015 trip to Poland, everything clicked into place. My heart was happy. Oddly, despite the grief and I had found my direction.

Poland had changed. The people were warm and friendly and welcoming. I reconnected with my family living in Warsaw. We ate at a modern restaurant our friend Marek was working in and I had one of the best meals of my life with my friends Aggie and Boz. I slipped into the Polish way of life a little too comfortably, chatting to taxi drivers, arranging meetings at Polish magazines offering travel pieces, zipping around on the trams, stopping at food markets to eat and take food photos.

On my return, Heather had sent my proposal out and had lined some meetings up and I was absolutely bursting to tell everyone about my experiences in Poland. They listened, they were intrigued. Sometimes I talked a bit too much, but I was beyond excited. Things then unfolded pretty quickly.

The meeting of minds

Pavilion Books, specifically Publishing Director Katie Cowan and Commissioning Editor Emily Preece-Morrison, simply ‘got’ me and my vision. As a publishing house led by Polly Powell, they are independent, forward-thinking and bold. As a team, they are incredibly normal and laid back and for the most part left me to it. I wrote and the words just poured out onto the pages. I was in my zone. There were no tears, or tantrums. I kept in mind that home cooks are time-poor these days and that no one has hours and hours to spend in the kitchen. Nor does anyone really want to eat fat-laden stodgy food and actually, I was very keen to put across the fact that in Poland, my recent experiences of the food there had been based on fresh ingredients, seasonality and simple flavours. The Poles had taken to street-food too, and to eating outdoors whenever they could. There were more new ingredients and flavours on the Polish culinary scene than ever before. I noted that there was a very positive, communal atmosphere in Poland; it was no longer so focused on the Polish table at home, but that the Poles themselves were more curious as to the food trends around them. I went back to visit the breakfast markets and to take more photos, each time feeling more and more inspired.

Warsaw, Breakfast Markets, by Ren

Alongside lots of new ideas and recipes, I wrote up the recipes that I had learnt from my family and use to regularly feed my own children, time and time again. And then came another trip to Poland, followed by another, and more and more things jumped out at me and suddenly there was too much to include.

I was also very conscious that I didn’t want to look backwards to how Poland used to be. I didn’t want to be nostalgic – perhaps because I had lost my dad, perhaps because I had seen such a huge shift in the culinary scene in Poland. I wanted it to be forward-looking, modern, bright and vibrant – just like Poland is today and I hope, how she will always be.

Photo Credit: Yuki Sugiura for Pavilion Food

The Creative Process

My experience has been incredibly positive and all at Pavilion Books have been super supportive of bringing this ‘lesser known cuisine’ to life and of giving me a chance. I didn’t take on the photography, although a few of my travel images do appear, as do a few family photographs. It was a real joy to write and then to watch and observe all the magic happening around me. Everyone loved the food on shoot days and were genuinely surprised by the lightness of it all and the ideas and flavours – the pierogi were always a big hit. The sweet pierogi with strawberries, pistachio nuts and wild honey made the biggest impression so they made the front cover.

The shoot team, who deserve maximum credit are photographer Yuki Sugiura, whose work you may be familiar with from many cookbooks, The Telegraph, The Guardian Cook, John Lewis Edition covers and much, much more. Yuki had such an incredible eye for detail and a manner of working that was calm and organised and full of light. I loved seeing my recipes captured so beautifully and elegantly in her studio.

Our home economist on set was the brilliant Rebecca Woods, who went the extra mile on every shoot day to source the best looking sea bass or perfectly-sized pickling cucumbers from Borough market and who then made it all look captivating. The results show that Polish food is light, appealing and straightforward to achieve at home.

We were also incredibly lucky to watch and learn from Alexander Breeze who brought imagination and a creative direction to the backgrounds, table and prop settings. I was simply in awe.

Back at Pavilion, Laura Russell worked her magic on the design of the book, along with commissioning editor Emily who continued to steer the modern direction of the book. Whilst external editor Maggie Ramsey and myself went back and forth, though not too much, with edits and improvements. I particularly enjoyed working on The Polish Pantry section which appears at the beginning of the book because I was keen to make sure that no one feels overwhelmed by any new ingredients – there really aren’t too many unfamiliar items, most are widely available in supermarkets and/or your local Polish deli – I’m sure you’ll have one nearby…!

Emily later handed the book over to Stephanie Milner, who guided me through the final few stages and then once the book was complete, Komal Patel and the team took over to start spreading the word about the book and that’s where we are at now. I’m sure there numerous more people behind the scenes who helped bring this book to life, from commercial experts to marketing teams and more. I feel very lucky to have been in such good hands.

Heather, and Cara at HHB Agency have also been on-hand throughout to help me navigate the process.

All in all, from signing to publication, the process has taken close to two years. The house is finished, too. The children and Ed are still being fed lots of Polish food.

So that’s the story of Wild Honey and Rye. I hadn’t intended this post to be so long, but there you have it, almost another book. Really, I wanted to tell you about the food. But I hope Wild Honey and Rye will tell the story of modern Polish food itself, through the pages you’ll see and through the recipes I hope you’ll make.

Photo Credit: Yuki Sugiura for Pavilion Books

The future

This has been my blog, my space, my little corner of the world for seven years now. Often, being a mother and writing from home has been lonely and lots of things have changed. This blog has been my constant and without you all, I wouldn’t have had the courage to try and catch my dreams. I’m very proud of my Polish heritage – it has made me who I am and the ultimate privilege is to have been able to write about it and to share Polish food with a wider audience. Having dual-heritage has made me different and unique and often I have struggled with that. But reading blogs and connecting with people all over the world made me feel like I fitted in somewhere. And that’s something I’ll always treasure. Thank you for supporting me with all my recipes writing. Every single thing I’ve written about from Polish food, to family food, to cookbook reviews has been a small part of a much bigger tapestry. I’m looking forward now to hosting some Wild Honey and Rye-themed events – my first one is here and I hope there will be many more Polish food adventures.

This book is for you.

Wild Honey and Rye is for anyone who has cause to cook. I know that cooking can sometimes feel like a chore, but it can be incredibly satisfying to push yourself to try something new.

Polish food isn’t spicy or heavy, it’s light and seasonal. We eat eggs and porridge for breakfast, just like everyone else – though I often have millet porridge and pour wild honey over my rye toast and cream cheese. All the classics are in there – salads (my favourite one is cucumber, sour cream and dill), my Mama’s bigos and cabbage rolls, as well as recipes to make with fresh market produce, soups, light bites, street food, food for family and friends (my favourite chapter), high tea and cakes (lots of my cakes have fruit in them) and there’s a chapter on vodka and how to capture and bottle seasonal gluts and flavour your own limited edition batches.

Photo Credit: Yuki Sugiura for Pavilion Books

Feedback and where to buy

As well as being available in the UK, Wild Honey and Rye is available in America, Canada, South Africa, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and Australia – and more and more countries are starting to list it! I have set up a page here with more information on where to buy it and I’ll also be hosting some events over the coming week, so I’ll keep you posted.

Wild Honey and Rye has also already received some wonderful feedback –

Early this year, Julia Platt Leonard listed Wild Honey and Rye as one of The best cookbooks to look forward to in 2017.
delicious. magazine selected it as a September Hot New Cookbook, “Author Ren Behan…shares sweet and savoury recipes that are strongly influenced by her heritage, but cleverly updated and modernised.”
Sumayya Usmani featured a recipe in her column for The Herald, Scotland
Sally at My Custard Pie made the millet porridge, a whole batch of pierogi and some of the salads as soon as she received the book and shared her Polish food memories and thoughts on my book here.

Pop back here next week for my virtual book launch, too.

You can connect with me here by leaving a comment or on social media where you’ll find me as @renbehan

Thank you

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who have supported, pre-ordered and already cooked from Wild Honey and Rye.

I hope my debut book earns a place in your culinary collection.

Photo Credit: Yuki Sugiura for Pavilion Books

Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes is available from all good bookshops and can also be ordered online.

7th September 2017, Pavilion Books.

Recipe images and portrait by Yuki Sugiura.

Tag your creations with #wildhoneyandrye

Carrot Gingerbread Cake

Ren Behan — Thu, 03 Aug 2017 10:47:32 +0000

This recipe is taken from Veggie Desserts + Cakes – Carrot Cake and Beyond by Kate Kackworthy, with permission from Pavilion Books. Kate writes at Veggie Desserts.

Carrot Gingerbread

“These chunky slabs of gingerbread are rich, dark and elegantly spiced. I’ve added lots of grated carrot to make them extra moist, and it blends beautifully with the treacle and ginger. Although this old-fashioned classic takes a while in the oven, it is very easy to make. For extra decadence, serve the gingerbread with hot custard, although a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream would also team up very well.” Kate Hackworthy

200 g/7oz/scant 1 cup unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing)
200 g/7oz/scant 1 cup light soft brown sugar
200 g/7oz/2/3 cup black treacle (molasses)
375 g/13oz/3 cups plain (all-purpose flour)
3 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
250 ml/8½fl oz/1 cup whole milk
150 g/5¼oz carrot (1½ medium carrots, peeled, grated)
2 large free-range eggs (beaten)
3 pieces of stem ginger in syrup (chopped)

Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/320°F/gas 3. Grease and line a 23 x 30mm/9 x 12in baking pan with baking parchment.
Heat the butter, sugar and treacle in a pan, stirring, until smooth and melted. Leave to cool slightly.
Sift the flour, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Stir in the milk, carrot, beaten egg, stem ginger and treacle mixture and stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour until well risen and springy in the middle.
Leave to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares.

I increased the heat to Gas Mark 3.

Dessert

Veggie Deserts and Cakes, Carrot Cake and Beyond is published by Pavilion Books, RRP £14.99.

Warm New Potato, Asparagus and Halloumi Salad

Ren Behan — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 10:58:30 +0000

The asparagus season runs from April to June here in the UK. You can also use courgettes in place of asparagus.

Recipe: Warm New Potato, Asparagus and Halloumi Salad

A simple, seasonal sheet pan supper with new potatoes, asparagus and halloumi cheese.

500 g/2 1/2 cups Jersey Royal new potatoes
500 g 2 bunches fresh asparagus
1 lemon
250 g/2 cups halloumi cheese (cubed)
1 red onion (peeled)
3 tbsp olive oil
60 g/one cup rocket leaves (rinsed, drained)
10 g/2 tbsp fresh herbs (e.g. dill, mint)
Sea salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F
Chop the new potatoes in half. Spread the potatoes out evenly on a large baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grate over the zest of one lemon. Roast for 15 minutes in the oven.
In the meantime, snap the woody ends away from the asparagus spears, then chop into 1 inch pieces. Chop the onion into 8 pieces.
Remove the potatoes from the oven. Add the asparagus, cubed halloumi and onion to the tray. Mix together with the potatoes. Bake for a further 15 minutes.
Take the tray out of the oven. Arrange the rocket leaves onto a large platter. Scatter the roasted potatoes, asparagus and halloumi. Scatter over some fresh herbs and serve immediately.

You can also scatter over some shredded rotisserie chicken for a non-vegetarian version

Lunch

British

Easy Chocolate Trifle

Ren Behan — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 12:45:44 +0000

The chocolate trifle is an absolute joy of a recipe. You can use almost any chocolate cake as a base – the recipe suggests chocolate muffins, but we used chocolate swiss roll. You add chopped bananas and white chocolate buttons, and then pour over some marmalade (let down with water) in place of jelly.

The really fun part is making your own chocolate custard. I was a bit daunted by this, but it was actually really straight forward. I’ve made it three times now, and have had no curdling at all. If you can master the custard recipe, you’ll always have this on hand to make for pouring over sponge puddings, or crumbles. You can leave the chocolate out and add a little vanilla for a plainer option, too. Or, simply use any custard you have at home.

Here’s the recipe by Simon Rimmer.

*I’ve made a couple of changes – I think you can get away with half a jar of marmalade and also, I leave the custard as it is and don’t stir in the whipped cream as there’s plenty of cream on top.

Chocolate Trifle

An indulgent home-made trifle using chocolate roll or muffins, fresh bananas, marmalade and buttons topped with a fresh chocolate custard and a mascarpone-vanilla cream. Perfect for playdates or to feed a crowd or a big family.

3-4 large chocolate muffins or one large chocolate swiss roll
Good glug of brandy (optional, leave out if making for kids)
2-3 bananas – sliced
75 g white chocolate buttons
1/2 * jar of orange marmalade – let down with 100ml hot water

Fresh Custard

6 egg yolks
125 g caster sugar
40 g flour
300 ml double cream
100 ml milk
150 g dark chocolate – chopped
200 ml double cream – whipped (optional)

Topping

250 ml double cream – softly whipped
250 g mascarpone cheese
1 vanilla pod – seeds scrapped
To decorate – 100s and 1000s

Break up the muffins or slice the chocolate swiss roll and put into a trifle bowl. Add a good glug of brandy, if using.
Add the banana slices, chocolate buttons and then pour over the let-down marmalade.
Custard – whisk the egg yolks and sugar and flour together.
Bring the cream and milk to simmering point and then pour over the egg mix, a little at a time, whisking together well until smooth.
Put the custard mixture back into the pan with the dark chocolate and stir until chocolate melts and the mixture thickens. Do this over a very low medium, stirring continuously for about 5 minutes. Transfer into a cool bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to cool completely.
Once cool, fold in the whipped cream, if using. Pour the custard over the sponge/bananas/buttons.
Topping – mix the cream, mascarpone and vanilla together until well combined. Pipe or spoon over the top and sprinkle with 100s and 1000s.

1 jar of marmalade reduced to 1/2 jar

Dessert

British

I hope you get to try this recipe, or any of the others from Eat the Week – I have loved them!

With thanks to Iceland Foods for commissioning this post #ad

Sausages Baked with Squash [One Pan]

Ren Behan — Sun, 09 Jul 2017 11:22:52 +0000

In partnership with Iceland #ad

Sausages Baked with Squash

If you regularly cook for your family, you’ll probably find, as I do, that some of the biggest challenges you face in a typical week revolve around coming up with a constant stream of nutritious meals, whilst fitting things in around your family’s schedule and dietary requirements. This is when a bit of meal planning comes into its own, as do shortcuts by way of handy items that can easily be pulled out of the freezer.

How can the freezer help?

I keep key items on hand, ready for when I’ve not had time to plan ahead, allowing me to quickly and easily rustle up a healthy family meal, such as frozen rice for stuffed vegetables or one-pot dishes, frozen chopped onions, frozen fruit (for quick smoothies), frozen seafood such as king prawns and salmon fillets for fishy pasta, and frozen pastry for quick my quick chicken pie.
Frozen food, especially frozen veggies, can often be just as good frozen as fresh
The freezer can act as a great back up, saving space in the fridge

So, this week our meal plan will feature some of Simon’s recipes, such as Sausages Baked with Squash and Rosemary (see the recipe below) and a retro Chocolate Trifle for pudding which will last a couple of days at least as it’s so big!

My ultimate food hacks

Scale up and batch cook so that one meal lasts a couple of nights
Keep things such as frozen chopped onions and packets of frozen vegetables to hand in the freezer
Go for ‘tray-bakes’ or one-pan dishes as much as possible – this is where you throw lots of items together and bake them on one tray in the oven. We love chicken thighs with chorizo and new potatoes, or salmon with roasted vegetables too.

Sausages Baked with Squash and Rosemary

An easy recipe that can be scaled up to feed a crowd, or a bunch of children for an unexpected playdate. Use fresh butternut squash or a bag of mixed frozen vegetables, along with your favourite sausages – meat or vegetarian.

12 sausages (I used Iceland’s The Butcher’s Market frozen sausages)
1 butternut squash – cut into wedges (with skin on (or used mixed frozen vegetables))
6 sprigs of rosemary
400 g cherry tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic – sliced
1 onion – sliced
1 lemon – juice
Serve with: crusty bread

Fry the onion in a large roasting dish for 20 minutes until caramelised with the garlic.
Remove from the pan, then fry the sausages for 8-10 minutes until golden brown.
Add the butternut squash wedges, rosemary, cooked onion/garlic and cherry tomatoes.
Roast at 180C for about 35 –40 minutes until the squash is cooked.
Squeeze over the lemon juice as soon as it comes out of the oven.
Serve with crusty bread.

Main

British

Commissioned post by Iceland #PowerofFrozen #ad

Coconut, Pistachio and Goji Berry Granola Bars

Ren Behan — Thu, 25 May 2017 17:21:03 +0000

You can read my full review of Packed, by Becky Alexander and Michelle Lake, published by Nourish Books here. Today, I’m happy to be sharing one of my favourite recipes from the book, Coconut, Pistachio and Goji Berry Granola Bars, from the Get Up and Go chapter. These bars perfect for mid-morning munchies or an afternoon snack. I’ve also made these with dried cranberries and raisins, in place of goji berries, but goji berries pack the most punch!

Recipe and image shared with the permission of the publisher. Image by Haarala Hamilton.

Photo: Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton

Easy to rustle up, these bars are a good option when you need to eat breakfast on the go or for an afternoon snack. Almond, cashew or macadamia nut butters all work well to add protein and flavour.

100 g/3 1/2 oz/ 1 cup jumbo/rolled oats
50 g/1 3/4 oz/ 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp honey (I use raw honey)
2 tbsp nut butter (of choice)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp raw (shelled pistachio nuts, roughly chopped)
50 g/1 3/4 oz/ 2/3 cup desiccated coconut/dried shredded coconut
2 tbsp dried goji berries

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a 23 x 15cm/9 x 6 inch shallow baking pan with baking/parchment paper. Spread the oats thinly over the parchment and bake for 15 minutes or until golden.
Put the oil, honey, nut butter and vanilla extract in a saucepan over a medium-low heat, and heat gently until well combined and the oil is melted.
Stir in the baked oats until well coated. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Tip the mixture back into the baking pan and press down firmly using damp hands.
Put in the fridge for 1 hour, or until firm, and then cut into 8 bars. Wrap each bar in parchment to take to work. Store in an airtight container for up to one week or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature for a couple of hours.

“Packed with…Vibrant red and intensely flavoured, the goji berry is rich in carotenoids and antioxidents that help to protect our eyes from damage. They are a little pricey, but they keep well and you only need to add a small amount to bars, porridge/oatmeal, granola or salads to reap their health benefits.”

Breakfast, or lunchtime snack

British

Recipe and image shared with the permission of the publisher. With thanks to Nourish Books, Becky and Michelle.

Book Review: Packed by Becky Alexander & Michelle Lake {Nourish Books}

Ren Behan — Mon, 22 May 2017 13:52:53 +0000

Packed – Lunch hacks and recipes to squeeze more nutrients into your day

By Becky Alexander and Michelle Lake, Nourish Books, £12.99

It’s all too easy to slip into a routine of having the same old boring sandwich or salad for lunch (and spending a fortune in the process) but this needn’t be the case with the release of a new recipe book called ‘Packed’ by food writer Becky Alexander and nutritional therapist Michelle Lake.

This inspiring book has over 90 ideas for nifty ‘lunch hacks’ and recipes to squeeze more nutrients into your day. It’s aimed at ‘everyone’s who’s had enough of cheese sandwiches’ – and yes, I imagine that’s quite a lot of people!

Nutritional Know-How

Michelle is Nutritional Therapist – Mission Nutrition – so all of the ideas are perfectly balanced to provide you with everything your body needs to fuel up at lunchtime. The book is bursting with nutritional advice throughout, so as well as following the recipes you can invent your own creations using Michelle’s pointers for the kind of foods you need to include in your lunch. Michelle writes in a very common sense, non-preachy way and this book is a far, far cry from some of the recent ‘clean eating’ obsession that has taken over of late.

I know Becky as ‘The Local Foodie’ – a St Albans-based food writer. Becky has spent a number of years doing desk-based work, as a magazine writer, editor and food journalist. Becky’s working life has often involved a commute into London, and therefore plenty of hastily-grabbed desk lunches. And although I know that Becky is a keen runner and therefore manages to stay healthy and trim, she also has to feed her family whilst squeezing in lunches around her editing and column writing. Her recipes are faultless and her ‘quick-to-the-table’ approach also really shines through.

Lunch Hacks

I love how practical this book is with tips for planning ahead and recommendations for the best kind of containers to pack your food up in. The healthy ‘lunch hacks’ are brilliant too with ideas for just making a few simple additions into your lunchtime habits, too. For example, adding the right carbohydrates, good quality protein, lots of protein and some healthy fats.

Although my own work is home-based and I therefore don’t have to face daily, often awful-tasting, pre-packed or processed expensive sandwiches and salads, I have been using Packed to liven up my lunchtimes at home, as well as incorporating many of the recipes into our family repertoire. I even cooked a ‘Packed’ lunch for Michelle and Becky at my home, and I’ve also turned to Packed a few times when entertaining friends.

The books is split into five chapters covering everything from breakfast, drinks, snacks and every kind of portable lunch you can think of.

Photography credit Haarala Hamilton for Nourish Books

1. Get up and go

– breakfasts on the move, muffins, healthy granola and overnight oats

Pimp your water bottle – with things like watermelon, cucumber, mint etc

We especially love the Coconut, Pistachio and Goji Berry Granola Bars, which you can make in advance, and keep in the fridge for breakfast or packed lunch snacks.

2. Salads and slaws

– delicious dressing ideas – love the Asian dressing one with sesame oil, apple cider and tahini.

– slaws – there are so many ideas for dressing up your slaws – from celeriac slaw to summer vegetable slaw with all manner of added goodies, such as edamame beans, peas, radishes, dried apricots, pomegranate, fresh herbs, pumpkin seeds and more.

Photography credit Haarala Hamilton for Nourish Books

We also had the Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpea, Feta and Pomegranate Salad and the Smoked Mackerel, Watercress and Radish Salad from this chapter together for lunch.

A delicious lunch with Becky and Michelle the authors from @packedwithgoodthings #packed. Tomato and butter bean soup, Smoked mackerel, watercress and radish salad pot, and the Roasted cauliflower, chickpea, feta and pomegranate salad made by Becky. I’ve made at least ten recipes from this book in the last couple of weeks! Feeling healthier already. Great for work from home lunches too as well as packing them up

A post shared by Ren Behan (@renbehan) on Feb 27, 2017 at 9:38am PST

3. Filling flasks

– chunky and smooth soups – creamy wild mushroom looks amazing and uses almond milk – also lots of ideas for portable noodles, stews, chilli and curries.

We love the Tomato and Butter Bean Soup (also above) and the Spicy Cauliflower and Almond Soup. As well as making a great lunch for me, the children love a mug of soup as an after-school snack. I also often make a batch of the Chicken, Root Veggie and Pearl Barley Stew in my Instant Pot which lasts me most of the week as a desk-lunch.

4. Fork free meals

– pate, dips and spreads – the Sweet Potato and Goat’s Cheese dip sounds incredible as well as all the deli plate ideas, sandwiches (Coronation-ish Chicken, Salt Beef and Sauerkraut etc) and sushi rolls.

5. Snacks and bites

– keep away from crisps with some of these brilliant ideas like Tamari and Lime Kale Crisps or Spicy Popped Chickpeas or if you’ve got more of a sweet tooth then the Apricot and Cashew Energy Balls or Salted Peanut and Raw Cacao Fudge are bound to appeal.

Overall verdict

If you’re keen to clean up your act nutritionally, and save time and money ‘Packed’ has a huge variety of inspiring portable meal ideas that should perk your office or home lunch right up.

About the authors:

Becky Alexander is a food writer (The Guild of Food Writers) and food book editor. She writes a fortnightly food column for The Herts Advertiser newspaper focussing on seasonal, local food.

Michelle Lake DipION CNHC mBANT is a registered Nutritional Therapist and has been running her own busy practice, Mission Nutrition in St Albans for over 7 years. She trained for four years at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition on its internationally acclaimed nutritional therapy course. She is a member of BANT (British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy) and The Nutritional Therapy Council (NTC).

Own copy, all thoughts and opinions my own. I was not required to write a positive review. Amazon affiliate link included.

Pop back tomorrow for an exclusive recipe from the book.

Ren Behan – Author The Sweet Polish Kitchen

One-Pot Lamb with Orzo (Yiouvetsi)

One-Pot Cypriot Lamb

Creme Egg Cupcakes

Creme Egg Cupcakes

You may also like:

5 Polish Recipes from Wild Honey and Rye

From the ‘Seasonal and Raw Salads’ Chapter:

From the ‘Seasonal Soups and Market-Inspired Sides’ Chapter:

From the ‘Food for Family and Friends’ Chapter:

You may also like:

Hot Cross Buns with a Maple Glaze

Hot Cross Buns with Chocolate Chunks and Toffee Glaze

Ingredients:

For the crosses

For the toffee glaze

You may also like:

No-Bake Crème Egg Cheesecake

No-Bake Crème Egg Cheesecake

For the base

For the cheesecake topping

You may also like:

Risotto Caprese with Tomato, Mozarella and Basil (Gennaro Contaldo)

Risotto Caprese – Risotto with Tomato, Mozarella and Basil

Other risotto posts you may like:

Polish Easter Babka

Rebirth

Polish Easter Babka

Happy Spring!

Polish Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce

Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce and a Cucumber Salad

For the meatballs:

For the mushroom sauce:

For the Mizeria cucumber salad:

For the beetroot salad:

You may also like:

A Polish Christmas Eve from Wild Honey and Rye

Travel: Adventures with Riso Gallo in Italy

Which rice or grain to chose at home?

Carnaroli

Arborio

Gran Riserva

Brown Rice

3 Grains

You may also like:

3 Grain Risotto with Chicken and Dill

3 Grains (Rice, Spelt and Barley) with Chicken and Dill

You may also like:

Pumpkin (or Butternut) Soup with Kefir and Poppy Seeds

Pumpkin Soup with Kefir and Poppy Seeds

You may like:

The happy launch of Wild Honey and Rye and how to party like a Pole!

Time to Party like a Pole…

The 10th St Albans Food and Drink Festival and Street Cafe Supper Club

The Amazing UK Blogging Community

Join me next week for the Wild Honey and Rye Polish Cookalong!

More Recipes:

Thank you for your support (and for buying the book and leaving reviews) and to all at Pavilion Books for their faith in my Polish recipes and for producing such a beautiful cookery book.

The Story of Wild Honey and Rye: Modern Polish Recipes

The Journey

The turning point

The meeting of minds

The Creative Process

The future

This book is for you.

Feedback and where to buy

Thank you

Carrot Gingerbread Cake

Carrot Gingerbread

Warm New Potato, Asparagus and Halloumi Salad

Recipe: Warm New Potato, Asparagus and Halloumi Salad

You May Also Like:

Easy Chocolate Trifle

Chocolate Trifle

Fresh Custard

Topping

Sausages Baked with Squash [One Pan]

How can the freezer help?

My ultimate food hacks

Sausages Baked with Squash and Rosemary