Pannetone Ice Cream

A few months ago, I made my first ever pannetone. A couple of batches later, Christmas very much in the past and with leftovers and I was wondering what to do with the candied fruit and flavouring that I bought from one of my favourite websites, Bakery Bits.co.uk

Well I was planning on making another batch of vanilla ice cream last weekend, when suddenly these left over ingredients came calling to me. And I wondered if it was possible to make a batch of ice cream that tasted like, and had some of the texture of pannetone. Hence pannetone ice cream. The recipe is based on a basic vanilla ice cream recipe, albeit with a couple of specialty ingredients from Bakery bits, although you could use a mix of finely chopped candied fruits such as the ones that are around, and tend to be left over after Christmas fruits. My husband did some initial taste testing, and has struggled to leave it alone ever since. Two teaspoons might seem a lot of the pannetone flavouring, but as it freezes the flavour will lessen so you really do need to do the more is more approach in order to achieve the right taste in the finished product.

If you have an ice cream maker, or like I do an ice cream attachment for my KitchenAid, then it's a case of pouring the cold mixture into the machine and churning. If not, then you will need to place into a tupperware or similar container and whisk up every hour to get rid of any ice crystals.


If you want to make it, the recipe is simple:

For the custard

300ml of whole milk
300ml of double cream
1 capful of vanilla extract
6 egg yolks (use the whites for meringues)
150 grams of caster sugar

Flavourings

2 teaspoons of Aroma di Pannetone (available from Bakery Bits.co.uk)
2 tablespoons of finely chopped candied fruits

Method

Heat the milk cream in a saucepan until almost at boiling point. Turn off the heat, add the vanilla extract and allow to infuse for 30 minutes.

Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a bowl until combined, then add the milk and whisk until fully combined. Place the mixture into a clean saucepan and heat over a low heat, stirring all the time until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Pour into a clean bowl, cover with clingfilm and allow to cool completely.

When cold, place in your ice cream maker, add the Aroma di Pannetone and churn according to the instructions on your ice cream maker. When ready, add the chopped fruits and churn for another minute to fully disperse within the mix, then turn into a container and place in the freezer until you want to eat it. If you do do not have an ice cream maker, you will need to take the container out of the freezer every hour and whisk until smooth.

To serve, take the container from the freezer and place in the fridge to ripen for 30 minutes. You could serve it on top of a slice of warm toasted pannetone, or on its own, with some additional chopped candied fruits on top.

Pre-Nowrouz meal

My husband is Iranian so Persian New Year, or Nowrouz, is a big deal for him.

Traditionally, the start of the festivities is marked with a meal of fish and rice, but I thought it might be nice to do a variation on a theme this year. I replaced the rice with lentils and decided to roast the cod in a coating of home made curry powder and oil. My recipe (which resulted in hubby asking for seconds by the way), is as follows. There were only two of us, scale the quantities up if you are feeding a crowd.

For the spiced lentils

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 x tins of green, or puy lentils, drained and rinsed
water
lemon juice, to taste
3 tablespoons of chopped coriander

For the fish

2 x 250gram pieces of cod loin (you could also use hake or another firm white fish)
1teaspoon of curry powder
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Start by preparing the fish. Mix the curry powder and oil into a paste. Brush over each side of the fish and season with salt and pepper. Place in a baking tray and set aside. Heat the oven to 200oC.

Heat the olive oil in a wide saute pan. Add the onion and cook on a medium heat until softened. Then add the garlic, chilli and cumin and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until soft.

Add the lentils, mind cook on a low heat for 5 minutes. Add enough water to make a thick sauce and bring to a simmer.

Whilst the lentils are cooking, place the fish in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

Just before the fish is ready, add the lemon juice and coriander, together with salt and pepper as required. Cover with a lid and set aside.

When the fish is firm, but still opaque, remove from the oven and allow to rest for five minutes.

To serve, place the lentil mix on the plate, or as I have done, the bottom of a wide bowl. Place the fish on top and serve.

Doris Grant Loaf

I know so many people who would like to make their own bread, but are put off by the whole kneading, proving, shaping and rising prior to baking. They think it's long, complicated and something resembling the "dark arts".

Of course there are many breads that can be made quickly and easily, think soda bread or flatbreads to go with a curry. There's also cornbread but that is more of a cake than bread in my opinion. But what would you recommend to someone who wants to dip their toe in the breadmaking water, that promises fairly fast results and is foolproof.

Everyone who knows me also knows that I make all my own bread, whether that be a simple pain de mie for sandwiches, bagels for a weekend breakfast or speciality breads such as brioche or using spelt or rye. There is always a loaf (or two or three) in the freezer ready to be eaten. However in the last couple of weeks I've been fighting off the tail end of a nasty infection as well as a very busy work schedule. So my breadmaking has played second fiddle. I realised yesterday that I was all out of bread and needed something fast to tide me over until I could make a batch to see us through for the coming week. Enter the Doris Grant loaf.

Before I give you the recipe I used, I thought that it would be useful to explain the history behind the loaf and Doris herself.

The bread itself was an accidental creation by Doris Grant (1905 - 2003)
who was a baker and nutritionist.  She was concerned about the wellbeing of the workers in the munitions factories during the second world war and encouraged healthy eating following the principles of Dr William Hay whose diet she used in her youth to relieve the symptoms of crippling arthritis. Whilst teaching herself to bake, she realised that she had not been following the traditional way of breadmaking. However it seemed to make no difference to the overall quality of the bread, and  proved easier and quicker than the traditional methods, so she included her ‘mistake’ in her 1944 book Your Daily Bread.

The recipe I use is a variation of both the original and Lorraine Pascal's version. Due to a digestive condition I have to be careful in the amounts of fibre I can have in my diet, so the 50/50 mix of white and wholemeal flours are ideal for me. The first time I made it, I realised that I did not have any dried yeast, so used the fresh yeast I had instead. And I sometimes swap all water for 50/50 milk and water. A word of warning however, this is a heavy loaf, but toasts beautifully.If you like the taste and texture of pure wholemeal loaves, use all wholemeal flour instead.

225g white bread flour

225g wholemeal bread flour

1teaspoon of salt

7 grams of dried yeast, or 4grams of fresh

1 tablespoon of clear honey

300ml of warm water, or 150ml water and 150ml whole mlik

vegetable oil

milk for brushing the loaf

small bowl of chilled water

To make the loaf, sift the flours and salt into a bowl. Set aside 1 tablespoon of the wheatgerm left behind after sifting (to use as a topping later). Add the yeast followed by the honey and either mix by hand or in a food processor with the dough hook attached. The dough will feel quite stiff, this is completely normal.

Flour a baking sheet. Form the dough into a round and place on the sheet. Cover loosely with a piece of oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 200oC. Slash the loaf with a sharp knife and brush with the milk. Sprinkle over the reserved wheatgerm. Place the bowl of chilled water in the base of the oven and put the loaf in to bake. Bake for 30-40 minutes (check after 30 minutes) until the loaf is brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

Allow to cool on a rack and enjoy!