Guinness Brown Bread

You have got to try making this bread. There is very little to it, other than weighing and measuring out the ingredients and popping it in the oven to bake.

The bread is slightly sweet because of the sugar and syrups that are used, but this is countered by the nuttiness of the wholemeal flour and also the bitter edge that the walnuts and Guinness contribute.

Given my great love for butter, it will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that I recommend having a liberally buttered slice (or two) whilst it is still warm from the oven. Delicious! Well… it is important to check that it tastes OK!

The bread stays moist for two or three days and is lovely toasted. It is particularly nice thinly sliced when cold and topped with some Irish smoked salmon, with a squeeze of lemon juice, a small spoonful of crème fraîche and a sprinkling of some finely chopped chives.
 

Like traditional brown soda bread, this bread uses bicarbonate of soda as the leavening agent. However, there is no buttermilk and the liquid that is used is Guinness. Like a lot of beers and ales, Guinness has many uses in cooking and baking. I use it in my Christmas puddings and also do a beef stew where the main ingredient in the sauce is Guinness.

Arthur Guinness started brewing ales in 1759 at the St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin. Guinness is a stout – a type of dark beer made from water,  roasted barley and malt extract, hops and brewer's yeast.  The roasted barley gives Guinness its characteristic dark colour and bitter taste. Guinness is also colloquially known as “the black stuff” and a “pint of plain”. Interestingly, although Guinness appears to be black, it is in fact a very dark shade of red.

Other stouts can be used in this recipe but personally I like the “tang” that the Guinness gives to the finished bread.

 

Ingredients:

315 g stoneground, wholemeal flour
150 g plain flour
30g caster sugar
1 level tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
60g porridge oats
375ml milk
60g roughly chopped walnuts
55g golden syrup
110g black treacle
35g melted butter
100ml Guinness
 

Method:

1.                  Pre-heat oven to 140C/Fan 130C/Gas 1.
2.                  Sieve the plain flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl. Add the wholemeal flour,  sugar, salt, oats and walnuts. Mix well with a wooden spoon to evenly distribute the ingredients.
3.                  Form a well in the centre and add the milk, golden syrup, black treacle melted butter and Guinness.
4.                  Mix well together, making sure that there are no pockets of dry flour. The mixture will be quite wet and a porridge like consistency.
5.                  Grease a large 2lb loaf tin and lightly flour. This is to ensure that the bread does not stick. You can also baseline it with a little greaseproof paper.
6.                  Bake in the pre-heated oven for 45 minutes and then increase the temperature to 180C/Fan 170C/Gas 4 and cook for a further 25 minutes.
7.                  To test whether the bread is cooked, remove it from the tin and tap it. It should sound “hollow”.
8.                  When cooked, remove from tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Makes 1 loaf.
 

The Workman’s Friend

When things go wrong and will not come right,

Though you do the best you can,

When life looks black as the hour of night -

A pint of plain is your only man.

 

When money's tight and hard to get

And your horse has also ran,

When all you have is a heap of debt -

A pint of plain is your only man.

 

When health is bad and your heart feels strange,

And your face is pale and wan,

When doctors say you need a change,

A pint of plain is your only man.

 

When food is scarce and your larder bare
And no rashers grease your pan,

When hunger grows as your meals are rare -

A pint of plain is your only man.

 

In time of trouble and lousy strife,

You have still got a darling plan

You still can turn to a brighter life -

A pint of plain is your only man.

 

Flann O'Brien (Brian O’Nolan) 

Braised Fennel with Parmesan and Pernod

Fennel is definitely an acquired taste, but I love the gentle aniseedy, licquorice flavour it possesses.

This recipe is based on one that I saw being made by chef and author Simon Hopkinson.

Yes - this IS a rich dish but it tastes wonderful! You can serve this as an accompaniment to grilled or barbecued chicken or fish, or as a dish in its own right. I have adapted the original recipe to include a good glug of Pernod – just to give that extra anise kick!

Fennel is a curious plant with a long history of use for both culinary and medicinal purposes. The bulb, foliage, and seeds of the plant are widely used in cooking in many parts of the world. The seeds, which are brown or green when fresh, can be dried and used as a spice. The leaves of the are delicately flavoured and, in shape, reminiscent to those of dill. The bulb is crisp and can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled and also eaten raw. Fennel can be used is both sweet and savoury dishes but it is far more commonplace used in the latter.

Fennel has been grown throughout Europe, particularly around the Mediterranean Sea since ancient times. Ancient Roman texts extol the merits of the plant for its aromatic seeds and succulent, edible stalks. The Romans introduced fennel to Britain and it was first cultivated in America in the 18^th Century. The root of the plant was one of the flavourings used in Sack, an alcoholic beverage featuring mead that was popular during Shakespearian times and it is also one of three key ingredients in another alcoholic drink - absinthe.

 

Fennel bulbs are a good source of vitamin C, manganese and potassium and are also high in fibre. Fennel seeds are high in manganese, iron, calcium and magnesium. Fennel is used a remedy in herbal medicine for menstrual pain, to treat coughs and digestive problems. It is also believed to have properties which increase the production of breast milk in nursing mothers.

 

Ingredients:

2-3 fennel bulbs,trimmed and halved but reserve the trimmings
50g butter
50ml Pernod
50ml water
60g parmesan
Salt and pepper to season
  

Method:

1.                  Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.

2.                  Melt the butter in a casserole dish over a low heat. Place the fennel into the butter cut-side down, and scatter around the trimmings. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and increase the heat.

3.                  Add the Pernod and cover with the dish with a tight fitting lid. Cook in the pre-heated oven for approximately one hour, turning the fennel half way through the cooking time.

4.                  Remove from the oven when the fennel is cooked through and tender.

5.                   Preheat the grill to high.

6.                  Remove the fennel from the dish. Place in a warmed shallow oven-proof dish cut-side up, cover with foil and place in the oven while you make the sauce.

7.                  Pour the trimmings and cooking juices through a fine sieve suspended over a small pan. Warm through and add 45g/1½oz of the parmesan. Blend with a hand blender until smooth and creamy (about the consistency of pouring cream).

8.                  Pour the mixture over the fennel and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Place under the grill and cook until the surface is pale golden-brown and slightly bubbling around the edges.

 

Serves 2.
 

 

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Apple & Blackberry Jelly

Unlike classic panna cottas, which tend to use cream or milk, this recipe uses buttermilk. I love the slightly sour, acidic tang that it gives to the finished dish. This is a great dessert to serve after a rich meal and is easily paired with a variety of seasonal fruits at different times of the year. The recipe that I have given here includes a thin layer of blackberry and apple jelly, which is then topped with a few whole blackberries. You can experiment with different flavoured jellies… they are genuinely very easy to make and do finish off the dessert beautifully. I particularly like the lemon and stem ginger jelly that I sometimes make to top the panna cotta with!

Traditionally, buttermilk is the liquid that is left over after churning butter from cream. Nowadays, modern dairy technologies mean that cream can be easily skimmed from whole milk but historically, the milk was left to sit for a period of time to allow the cream and milk to separate – the cream was then used for making butter and the liquid left behind was the buttermilk.

Buttermilk is a key ingredient in traditional Irish soda bread where baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is used as the leavening agent instead of yeast. The lactic acid in the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide which make the bread rise when baked.

Buttermilk is readily available in shops and supermarkets in Ireland. But the variety that I prefer to use is made using traditional methods by Cuinneog. The company was set up by Tom and Sheila Butler in Balla, County Mayo in 1990 and in addition to buttermilk also produces butter.

Cuinneog has received many awards for its products over the past few years including Gold Great Taste Awards in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. It was also recognised for excellence in quality and traditional production method was awarded a Eirgrid Euro-toques food award in 2010.  

 

Ingredients:

Panna cotta:
3 sheets of leaf gelatine
400ml natural yogurt
150ml buttermilk
150ml crème fraîche
125g caster sugar
Apple & Blackberry Jelly:
2 sheets of leaf gelatine
150ml apple juice
150g blackberries
1 tablespoon of caster sugar

Method:

Panna cotta:
1.                  Soak the gelatine in a small bowl of water for 3-5 minutes until softened. Remove from water, squeeze out the excess water and set aside.
2.                  Put 100ml of the yoghurt in a small pan with the sugar and heat just enough to melt the sugar.
3.                  Warm the gelatine in a small pan with 1 tablespoon of water, until dissolved (do not let boil).
4.                  Pour the warm yoghurt onto the gelatine and mix well and then add in the rest of the yoghurt.
5.                  Pass this mixture through a fine sieve in to a medium bowl set over a large bowl full of ice. Whisk the mix gently as it cools, but do not let cool completely.
6.                 
Lightly whip the
Unlike classic panna cottas, which tend to use cream or milk, this recipe uses buttermilk. I love the slightly sour, acidic tang that it gives to the finished dish. This is a great dessert to serve after a rich meal and is easily paired with a variety of seasonal fruits at different times of the year. The recipe that I have given here includes a thin layer of blackberry and apple jelly, which is then topped with a few whole blackberries. You can experiment with different flavoured jellies… they are genuinely very easy to make and do finish off the dessert beautifully. I particularly like the lemon and stem ginger jelly that I sometimes make to top the panna cotta with!

Traditionally, buttermilk is the liquid that is left over after churning butter from cream. Nowadays, modern dairy technologies mean that cream can be easily skimmed from whole milk but historically, the milk was left to sit for a period of time to allow the cream and milk to separate – the cream was then used for making butter and the liquid left behind was the buttermilk.

Buttermilk is a key ingredient in traditional Irish soda bread where baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is used as the leavening agent instead of yeast. The lactic acid in the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to form tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide which make the bread rise when baked.

Buttermilk is readily available in shops and supermarkets in Ireland. But the variety that I prefer to use is made using traditional methods by Cuinneog. The company was set up by Tom and Sheila Butler in Balla, County Mayo in 1990 and in addition to buttermilk also produces butter.

Cuinneog has received many awards for its products over the past few years including Gold Great Taste Awards in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. It was also recognised for excellence in quality and traditional production method was awarded a Eirgrid Euro-toques food award in 2010.  

 

Ingredients:

Panna cotta:
3 sheets of leaf gelatine
400ml natural yogurt
150ml buttermilk
150ml crème fraîche
125g caster sugar
Apple & Blackberry Jelly:
2 sheets of leaf gelatine
150ml apple juice
150g blackberries
1 tablespoon of caster sugar

Method:

Panna cotta:
1.                  Soak the gelatine in a small bowl of water for 3-5 minutes until softened. Remove from water, squeeze out the excess water and set aside.
2.                  Put 100ml of the yoghurt in a small pan with the sugar and heat just enough to melt the sugar.
3.                  Warm the gelatine in a small pan with 1 tablespoon of water, until dissolved (do not let boil).
4.                  Pour the warm yoghurt onto the gelatine and mix well and then add in the rest of the yoghurt.
5.                  Pass this mixture through a fine sieve in to a medium bowl set over a large bowl full of ice. Whisk the mix gently as it cools, but do not let cool completely.
6.                  Lightly whip the crème fraîche and fold into the buttermilk and yoghurt mixture.
7.                  Pour into individual glass serving bowls and place in fridge to set.
Apple & Blackberry Jelly:
1.                  Soak the gelatine in a small bowl of water for 3-5 minutes until softened. Remove from water, squeeze out the excess water and set aside.
2.                  Put the rest of the ingredients for the jelly into a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves and the blackberries are softened, about 10 minutes. Crush the blackberries and pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Allow cool slightly and then mix in the gelatine, whisking to distribute and ensure that it is properly mixed. Pass through a sieve again and allow cool. Before it sets, pour a thin layer onto each of the pannacottas and return to fridge to finish setting.
3.                  Serve with a few blackberries, placed on the top of each individual panna cotta.

Serves 4
 and fold into the buttermilk and crème fraîche.
7.                  Pour into individual glass serving bowls and place in fridge to set.
Apple & Blackberry Jelly:
1.                  Soak the gelatine in a small bowl of water for 3-5 minutes until softened. Remove from water, squeeze out the excess water and set aside.
2.                  Put the rest of the ingredients for the jelly into a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves and the blackberries are softened, about 10 minutes. Crush the blackberries and pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Allow cool slightly and then mix in the gelatine, whisking to distribute and ensure that it is properly mixed. Pass through a sieve again and allow cool. Before it sets, pour a thin layer onto each of the pannacottas and return to fridge to finish setting.
3.                  Serve with a few blackberries, placed on the top of each individual panna cotta.

Serves 4