FOOD: 3 Simple Recipes - Frittata, Chocolate and Peanut-Butter Gelato and Mug Bread

For me this weekend has been practically perfect. For the first time since Christmas, I’ve had a work free weekend and boy did I make the most of it, filling it with rugby and cooking. As an Ireland fan, the rugby couldn’t have gone any better, IRE 26 – 3 WAL! Now there’s a score line to brighten even the rainiest of Saturday afternoons and now we’re sitting pretty at the top of the leader board. On top of that, I took advantage of being left home alone by the housemates and took over the kitchen.

When it comes to cooking I can’t be bothered with fancy, fiddly recipes. I like quick, simple, tasty, good food and the three recipes I’ve got for you today are just that. First up, a simple dinner using leftovers, that can be thrown together during the half-time of any rugby match (tried and tested I assure you), a cheeky little dessert that can be whipped up in 5 minutes and is surprisingly healthy, and the simplest bread recipe I’ve ever come across. If that’s got your taste buds tingling, read on my friends!

Easy-Peasy Frittata

This is really quick and really tasty dinner, and if you prep all your ingredients beforehand you can whip it up in 10-15 minutes max, like I did over half time during the England vs. Scotland game last night.

• 2 Beaten Eggs
• ½ Small Onion
• Handful of diced Chorizo
• Handful of chopped cherry Tomatoes
• Handful of roughly cut, leftover cooked potatoes
• Sprinkle of Grated Cheese (I only had cheddar, but mozzarella and feta would be a tastier alternative)
• Seasoning – Salt, Pepper, Oregano, Paprika

Ideally, you should throw some more veg in there, peppers, spring onions, peas all taste great, but unfortunately I was suffering from a case of empty fridge syndrome so had to make do.

1) Fry the onions, potatoes and chorizo on a medium heat until golden brown.

2) Add the tomatoes (and any other veg) and fry for a few minutes.

3) Season well to bring out all the flavours.

4) Pour over the beaten egg and cook for a few minutes, until that egg has cooked around the edges.

5) Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top and pop under the grill for a few minutes until the all the egg has cooked through.

And there you go, a quick, healthy and tasty dinner!

Positively Healthy Pud – Chocolate and Peanut-Butter Gelato

This was my first attempt at TheLononder’s Gelato recipe and it’s so good I think it’s going to become my go-to pudding. It super easy to make and because of all the peanut butter it’s packed full of tryptophan which helps tackle depression.  According to The Londoner it also helps prevent type-2 diabetes, aids weight loss, lowers blood pressure and balances blood sugar. What’s not to like?

• 3 sliced, frozen bananas

• 1 tbsp  peanut-butter

• 2-3 tbsp cocoa-powder

• 1 tbsp honey (I ended up using 2 because my cocoa was heavy bitter)

Ideally, just chuck all the ingredients into a blender and give it a good blitz. Being a student however, I had to make do with a hand-blender and a mixing bowl, slightly more fiddly but still pretty easy.

Either way, blend until smooth.

Scoop into some Tupperware and pop into in the freezer for whenever you feel in need of little scoop of heaven.

Mug Bread

This is the most complicate of today’s recipe but it’s still fairly simple.  It’s based on James’s Morton’s (from Bake off) recipe which you can find here. The only measuring device you need for this recipe is a mug, it doesn’t matter what size but the bigger the mug the bigger the loaf. Bonus – there’s no kneading, just an extra proving stage, so it’s perfect if you’re a first time bread maker!

• 2 ¼ mugs – bread flour

• 1 mug – tepid water (test with your finger tip – you shouldn’t be able to tell if it’s hot or cold)

• 1 sachet of yeast

• Enough salt to cover the base of the mug.

1) Throw all the dry ingredients into a bowl and rub together

2) Pour in the water and using one hand mix into a rough dough – don’t worry if it seems sticky – it should be.

3) Cover with Clingfilm or a damp tea towel and leave to prove for 40 minutes.

4) Fold the dough firmly in half, rotate and fold again.Repeat until all the air has been knocked out. It should look nice and shiny, just like kneaded dough.

5) Cover and rest of an hour, or until doubled in size.

6) Flour  work surface and scoop the dough onto it. Punch into a rough square and then shape the dough by pulling the corners of the square into the centre of the dough and pushing them down so they stick. Then, pull all the sides into the middle and press them so they stick down.

7) Flip the dough over and place on a heavily floured baking tray and leave to prove for another hour.

8) 20 minutes before the end of the final prove, pre-heat the oven to 210˚C.

9) Score the top of the bread.

10) Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown – a good way to test if your bread is cooked is to knock on the base of the loaf – it should sound hollow.