Banana Bread

danijelaskitchen 1 Comment

If you’re looking for something a little sweet and delicious for brekkie, this recipe is the one for you. Not to be fooled though, this bread can be enjoyed at any point during the day. I love this recipe because you will probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry and it’s a great way to use up your over-ripe bananas.

Serves: 4-6 | Prep. time: 7 -10 minutes | Baking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 1/2 cups plain flour
  • 1/2 cup caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1 egg, whisked
  • 80g walnuts, chopped (or any other nut you prefer)
Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c.
2. Line a loaf tin with baking paper.
3. In a large bowl place the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and walnuts and stir well.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk the egg and oil together and pour into the dry mixture, stir briefly.
5. Add the mashed banana and fold in until just combined.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer runs clean.
7. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then serve with butter.

Notes

If you don’t like walnuts, feel free to use any other type of nut, such as pecans.

Also, you may substitute the banana with any other fruits you enjoy, such as, raspberries or blueberries.

 

 

Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino

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If you are after a fast and fresh dish that is packed with simple yet delicious flavours, this one is for you! This is my midweek go-to pasta dish for its ease of preparation and cooking time. The dish may be varied to suit your taste buds, if you love heat double the chilli. This dish is so flavoursome that you don’t even need to include prawns (I just love prawns). Fresh ingredients is a must as there are only a few to rely on, so make sure you are using good quality olive oil and the best parmesan you can buy.

Serves: 4-5 | Prep time: 7 – 10 minutes | Cooking time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients

  • 500g spaghetti
  • 150ml good quality olive oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
  • 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
  • Freshly grated parmesan cheese
  • 400g peeled and de-veined prawns (optional)

Method

  1. Boil plenty of water in a kettle and add to large saucepan with a good pinch of salt. Once the water is rapidly boiling, throw in your spaghetti and cook till al-dente (firm to the bite)
  2. While your pasta is cooking, pour the olive oil into a fry pan with high sides and turn the heat to low
  3. Finely slice your garlic and add to the fry pan. You want the garlic flavour to gently infuse into the olive oil without the garlic burning
  4. Finely chop your parsley and leave to the side
  5. Add your chilli flakes to the frying pan so that it infuses with the garlic oil, turn up the heat to medium for 1 minute
  6. Optional: Add your prawns to the fry pan and cook for 1 minute (Just until they change colour to white or opaque)
  7. Drain the spaghetti and add to the fry pan, along with fresh parsley, stirring well
  8. Sprinkle the parmesan (as much or as little as you like, I ‘recommend’ a lot!)
  9. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

A good quality dried pasta is a must for this dish. I recommend, from experience, Barilla’s Spaghettoni n.7. You could also use fresh chilli’s if you prefer.

Mixed Mushroom Risotto

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If you have never made risotto before it can seem intimidating, however, let my recipe guide you through a simple and stress free approach to making this delicious dish.The mixed mushroom risotto is perfect for impressing friends and family as it takes less than an hour to prepare and cook. The magic of a risotto is that you can change the ingredients around to suit different taste buds and seasonal produce. For an extra kick, try adding fresh or dried chilli prior to serving.

Serves: 4-5 | Prep time: 15 minutes | Cooking time: 25 – 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 500g risotto rice
  • 400g sliced button mushrooms
  • 30g dried mixed mushrooms (porcini, chanterelle, black trumpet)
  • 1 diced onion
  • 2 gloves of garlic
  • Olive oil
  • Knob of butter
  • Freshly cracked salt and pepper
  • 1/2 ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 bunch of flat leaf parsley
  • 1L warm water
  • 1 mushroom stock cube
  • Grated parmesan
  • Fresh or dried chilli (optional)

Method

  1. Soak the dried mushrooms with the warm water in a saucepan, bring to a gentle simmer
  2. Place frying pan onto a medium heat with olive oil and butter
  3. Add diced onion to fry pan, let this fry for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is translucent
  4. Add finely chopped garlic to the fry pan and stir briefly (do not let your garlic burn)
  5. Pour in the risotto rice and stir well for two minutes, letting the rice absorb the oil, onion and garlic mixture
  6. Add freshly ground salt, pepper and ground nutmeg. Stir well
  7. Remove the dried mushrooms from the saucepan and squeeze excess water into the saucepan. Add the dried and sliced button mushrooms to the rice mixture and stir well
  8. Place the stock cube into the same saucepan which has been infused by the dried mushrooms, turning the heat for your stock mixture to high.
  9. Ladle the stock into the rice mixture
  10. Allow the stock to absorb before adding another ladle, ensure you are constantly stirring the mixture to prevent the rice burning and/or sticking
  11. Continue to ladle your stock and stir your mixture for 20 – 25 minutes or until al-dente (firm to the bite)
  12. Once your risotto is al-dente stir in your parsley, parmesan and chilli for an added kick
  13. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

Use any dried mushrooms, I’ve made this dish using just porcini and button mushrooms and it has turned out great.

The mushroom stock cube adds a rich depth of flavour and can be found in major supermarkets or Italian deli’s.

Summer Peach Cake

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This is a perfect summer cake making the most of fresh and seasonal fruit. It’s easy to prepare and will work out every single time. If you would like to make this cake all-year-round simply use a fruit that is in season or you can mix a range of fruits.

Serves: 8 | Prep time: 15 minutes | Baking time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs, separated
  • 160g all-purpose plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon of baking powder
  • 150g of caster sugar
  • 120g unsalted melted butter
  • Zest of 1 lemon or lime
  • 500g ripe peaches (4-5)
  • Icing sugar for dusting

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees celsius
  2. Lightly grease and line a 20cm – 23cm cake tin with baking paper
  3. Wash and peel the peaches and cut into thick wedges
  4. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with an electric mixer to soft peaks
  5. Sift flour, baking powder and sugar into a separate bowl making a well in the centre
  6. In a separate bowl, whisk butter, egg yolks and lemon or lime zest
  7. Combine the liquid ingredients with the dry ingredients adding 1/3 of the egg whites, folding gently
  8. Add remaining egg whites and fold until a smooth batter is formed
  9. Pour the batter into the cake tin
  10. Arrange the peach slices in either a messy or neat layer (as you prefer)
  11. Bake for 30-40 minutes (insert a skewer into the centre, once completely baked will come out clean)
  12. Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar
  13. Enjoy! (Share your photos)

Notes

Try using apricots, nectarines, oranges, mangoes, plums, cherries… The list is endless, go crazy!