Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls (or you can call them a salad in a roll!)

...is one of the fun-est (is that a word!), communal, tasty and healthy snacks you can make!

You can put anything you like in them as long as its chopped up long and thinly - so you can add prawns, ham, duck, chicken, pork marinated in anything you like with with any vegetables you like; baby gem lettuce, carrots, peppers, cucumber, courgettes, mange tout....and you can add strips of cooled scrambled egg.

In Vietnam rice paper rolls are made in groups - get all your ingredients together and bowls of warm water ready and make together your own rice paper roll. A perfect bank holiday activity and treat! Its gluten free too!

Hello and Welcome to Spring

A time of picnics and outdoor eating and aren't these just perfect for both! If you wish to transport these rolls keep them in the fridge in an airtight container before going and then keep in a cool bag. They are best wrapped in clingfilm as it doesn't stick to the rolls.

Ingredients:

Makes 9 rolls

1 carrot (peeled)

1/4 cucumber

1 layer of rice noodles

1/5 shredded lettuce

Pieces of mint (stalks taken off)

Coriander – few sprigs

Rice paper – 9 pieces

King prawns – 250g packet (3 prawns per roll)

2 Cooked chicken breasts – cut in small pieces (chicken cook in salt, pepper and lemon juice)

You can add anything into rice paper rolls (apart from any soggy food like tomatoes). To spice them up a bit eat them with a sweet chilli dipping sauce, or soy sauce or a satay sauce consisting of; 2 tbsp of hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp peanut butter, juice 1/2 lemon and 2-3 tbsp water.

Method

1. Soak the rice noodles in boiled water for 10 mins (until soft) – then put in cold water to stop them cooking

2. Grate the carrot

3. Cut the cucumber into very thin strips

4. Shred (or tear in strips) the lettuce

5. Prepare the herbs – take off the mint stalks

6. Put a sheet of rice paper in a bowl of luke-warm water - just gently move in a circular motion until soft (one paper at a time) – then transfer to a plate

7. Lay the rice paper roll on a plate and fill with the ingredients by putting in the middle in a line the meat/fish option such as 3 prawns or some pieces of chicken. When its wrapped up you will see this part first.

8. Do not overfill - add the vegetables, herbs & rice noodles on top of the meat/fish.

9. Bring the two ends of the rice paper over the filling, then roll up the sides to create a tight parcel

8. Enjoy as they are or with any of the sauce options!

Other tasty filling combinations:

Barbecued pork with cucumber, basil and mint

Barbecued chicken with Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, mint and coriander

Roast beef with cucumber and mint

Shredded chicken with mint and basil

Prawn, carrot, pea sprouts and mint

Roast duck, cucumber & thin pieces of orange

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HOT CROSS BUNS

...Have been with us for centuries - with symbolic crosses having been used on cakes since the 6th century in Greece. Baking HCB's at home became a tradition after Elizabeth I decreed they could only be sold for profit on a few days each year. Make it a family tradition in your home...

Hello

These are not as complicated as they seem! You are just making an enriched dough and the two proves allows you to catch up on an episode from Bridgeton or Succession! They are delicious and so much fun to make with the children who love "icing" on the crosses. You could even add some food dye to the crosses so they are different colours!

You can experiment with the flavours too - add some ground green cardamom seeds to the dough or add 100g of dried cherries & 50g chopped dark chocolate in place of 150g of the mixed fruit.

Ingredients:

Buns

175g currants/sultanas (or any dried fruit you have, like dried cranberries or cherries or mixed peel if you like)

300ml milk (full fat if possible)

75g unsalted butter

500g strong white bread flour

75g light brown sugar

1 tbsp mixed spice

1 tsp fine salt

1/2tsp grated nutmeg (only if you have it)

zest of an orange (or lemon if you prefer)

2 heaped tsp of easy bake yeast

2 eggs

vegetable oil

Crosses

80g plain flour

1 tsp brown sugar

80ml cold water

Syrup Glaze

2 tbsp golden syrup OR apricot jam or any syrup sugar

2 tbsp light brown sugar

Delicious eaten straight from the oven, warmed in a microwave or toasted and smothered with butter and cherry jam. 

1. Put the dried fruit in a small bowl and pour over just enough boiled water to cover. Leave to plump up.

2. Gently warm the milk and butter until the butter has just melted and remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, mixed spice, nutmeg, orange zest and salt. Make a well and add the yeast and pour in the warm milk/butter from step 2 (must not be hot just warm).

4. Drain the dried fruit and mix in with the beaten egg to form a enriched dough.

5. Knead quickly for 20-30 seconds on a lightly floured surface and set aside for 5-10 minutes (covered) then repeat the process twice until the dough is smooth and elastic.

6. Put the dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour until its doubled in size.

7. Divide the dough into 12 even portions - take a portion put it in your hands and roll into a dough ball for a few minutes to make a smooth bun. Slightly press down at the top and put on the tin. Repeat for the other 11 buns.

8. Once all the buns are on the tin - touching each other at the sides - cover with a t-towel and leave to rise again for 45 minutes.

9. Beat the remaining egg and brush over all the buns

10. For the crosses mix the flour and sugar with 80ml of water to make a thick paste.

11. If you have a piping bag put the white paste into a piping bag and pipe a cross on each of the HCB's

12. Bake for 20-25 minutes rotating the tray half way through until the buns are a rich brown colour.

13. Gently heat the ingredients for the glaze and gently pour over the Hot Cross Buns and eat!

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NALYSNYKY - DELICIOUS UKRANIAN PANCAKES

...a lovely twist on our traditional lemon & sugar pancakes using 3 key ingredients in Ukrainian food;- cottage cheese, fresh dill & sour-cream

Hello

"Food can be many things - a pleasure, a pain, fuel, nutrition, nostalgia, an act of love, celebratory, a symbol of grief"

And having visited Ukraine twice, not as a tourist but working and building community together with local Ukrainians, I have sat around many Ukrainian tables in the rural areas and in Kiev and enjoyed such lavish and tasty hospitality.

So today on this Shrove Tuesday, the 1st March, my thoughts and prayers are very much with our Ukrainian neighbours and so lets celebrate their food culture with Nalysnyky's - Ukrainian pancakes.

Ingredients:

For the Crepes

1. 2-3 eggs

2. 1 ½ litre milk

3. 100ml of water

4. 300g plain flour (sieved)

5. 1/2 tsp salt

6. 15ml sour cream

7. 20g sugar

8. Sunflower Oil

For Cheese filling

1. 50ml sour cream

2. 2 tbsp whipping/double cream

3. Pinch salt

4. 15g sugar

5. 300g whole Milk Cheese/cottage cheese (room temperature)

6. 1tsp vanilla essence

7. 1 tbsp dill (or more to taste – use fresh if you have. If not, the dried stuff works great as well)

8. 25g melted butter

Punnet of Raspberries to be added just before they are placed on the table.

Delicious eaten as it is or serve with fresh raspberries which go so well with dill and the cheese filling

1. For the crepes;- Beat eggs one at a time. Add the milk, water, flour, salt, sour-cream, sugar and beat enough to get rid of any lumps.

2. Pour some sunflower oil in a hot non-stick pan and scoop 3/4 of a ladle full of batter and swirl around creating a thin circular layer. Flip when side is golden brown (approximately 45 seconds). Oil pan in between each crepe as needed.

1. For the filling:- Mix the sour cream, whipping cream, salt and sugar with the cheese and vanilla essence. Add your dill.

2. Lightly spread an even layer of cheese on each crepe. Roll up gently.

3. Cut each crepe in three equal pieces.

4. Spoon a small amount of melted butter into the bottom of a large foiled casserole dish.

5. Layer your Nalysnyky into the casserole dish. Make sure the butter is only on top of your final layer. You don’t want any layers to stick together.

6. Wrap the sides of the foil loosely over the top of the Nalysnyky.

7. Bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

8. When cool add raspberries at the end of each crepe and/or make a raspberry compote

9. Dust with sieved icing sugar

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