The ultimate soda bread

Tonight I made the dinner for tomorrow night before hitting the hay - soda bread and soup (leek, potato and bacon).  The soda bread that I make is from the March 2007 issue of Goodfood magazine.  It is one of Angela Nilsen's 'ultimate' recipes from her 'The Ultimate Recipe Book'.  I (sadly) do not own a copy of her book, but GF magazine has published quite a few of them and they have a number of them available on their website - but not the one that I made this evening.  A lot of her recipes are makeovers of old favourites in an effort to make them healthier - lower fat, lower salt, lower sugar etc.

Anyway, as the recipe is not available on the GF website I am not able to link to it and so have to type it up in order to share it.  I've made it a number of times over the years (to the point where I know the recipe by heart) and have always enjoyed it.  I am currently sitting here smelling it and trying hard to fight the temptation to jump up and tuck into it! 

Ingredients
225 g/8oz plain flour, preferably organic
225 g/8 oz plain wholemeal flour, preferably organic
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
25g /1 oz butter, room temperature
500 ml/ 18 fl oz buttermilk

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees C/ fan 180 degrees C/ gas 6.  Butter and flour a large baking sheet.  Mix both the flours with the bicarbonate of soda and slat in the biggest bowl you have - the bigger the better to give yourself room for the mixing.  Cut the butter into pieces, then rub it into the flour mixture so it is evenly mixed in.
2. Give the buttermilk a good stir.  Create a big dip in the flour mixture, then pour in the buttermilk all at once.  You can now mix everything with your hands, or it you find it easier, start with a round-bladed knife to work in the liquid, then switch to your hands to finish off.  Start in the middle of the bowl and work towards the outside in a circular movement - the mixing should only take a few seconds.  You want to blend rather than mix, and if you do this for too long the dough will lose its lightness - so stop handling it as soon as you have a soft, sticky dough.
3. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  With floured hands, gently shape the dough into a round.  It shouldn't be kneaded, just gently tucked and eased into a round shape.  The less it is handled the better.  Lift it onto the baking sheet.  pat it, again gently, into a round about 3cm/ 1.25 inch thick and 20cm/ 8 inch across, and very slightly rounded.  Cut a deep cross into the surface of the dough with a sharp knife.  Prick in the centre of each cut, then sprinkle the loaf with a little flour.
4. Bake for 30 mins until golden on top.  Check the underneath before removing - it should be golden and sound a bit hollow when tapped.  Transfer to a wire rack, and for a soft top lightly wrap with a clean tea towel as the loaf cools.  To serve, break the bread in the centre (for luck), then into quarters and cut into thick slices.  Best eaten fresh, while still a bit warm.  If well wrapped, the loaf will keep for a few days.

Oven-baked red pepper risotto

I love this recipe for red pepper risotto that I came across in October 2008 issue of Good Food magazine.  I've made it so many times now that I no longer need to follow the recipe in order to make it.

TIP   One of the main ingredients is 200g of frozen roasted peppers.  I've not been able to find these anywhere, so buy fresh red peppers and roast them myself.  To do this, you wash, deseed and cut the red peppers - I usually quarter them - place them on an oven tray, spray with fry light and then put in a hot oven until the skins start to bubble and blacken.  I often peel the skins off them before chopping them up for the recipe.  To peel the skins off I put them in a bowl and cover with clingfilm, leaving them to cool a bit.  This makes them easier to peel.  If I am using the oven the day before I make the risotto I will roast the peppers a day in advance, peel and chop them and put them in a tub in the fridge until I need them.

Cost wise this is one of my more expensive recipes just because of the cost of the risotto rice which is 3.15 in my local supermarket.  It is one of the ingredients that I buy if I have money left over in my budget so I tend to always have a pack in the cupboard.  I am going to shop around to see if I can find it cheaper in another shop.