Creativity Wins!

How do you like to cook? Some people like to read and prepare recipes to the letter creating perfection in every bite.  Others give the ingredients a quick scan and then ditch the recipe book to create their own masterpieces. It is true that a picture speaks a thousand words - just the sight of something yummy can give the inspiration to get creative in the kitchen.


My kind of cooking can be compared to reality singing shows where contestants are encouraged to make songs 'their own'. There is nothing more satisfying to me than to hear of new ways that My Secret Kitchen products and recipes are being enjoyed.

One of my favourite recipes this month is hoummus using our gorgeous Saffron Tagine Paste. Our paste is great value for money - from the same jar you can make a fabulous tagine for six and still have enough left to use in marinades and dressings or to add a touch of exotic flavour to any dish - we've made it unique by adding the evocative spice, saffron. To serve with the hoummus we created another recipe for our versatile Beer Bread Mixes - Sunflower Seeded Honey Beer Bread and turned the loaf into home-made gourmet crisp bread crackers.

Hoummus with Saffron Tagine Chick Pea Topping
and Sunflower Seeded Honey Crisp Bread

The hoummus recipe uses chick peas - some of which are reserved to make a topping along with more Saffron Tagine Paste, red onion, tomato puree and our Oak Smoked Rapeseed Oil from Sussex - with its golden colour and distinctive smokey flavour.  The Sunflower Seeded Honey Crisp Breads are made by leaving the prepared loaf to cool completely before cutting into slices and baking in a low oven......

Saffron Tagine Hoummus with
Sunflower seeded Honey Beer Bread

Alternatively, you can interpret the recipe differently (like one of our team leaders Nic Blake did!) by shoving all the ingredients in a blender and whizz away!  Similarly with the bread recipe you can just cut into chunks and serve!  Both serving suggestions are really tasty and great as a starter or for serving with crudites, in sandwiches or with salads.  I then used the last of the hoummus to thicken up a one pot chicken stew that needed some oomph!

In all cases creativity wins - the true pleasure is seeing everyone in the kitchen using and abusing our recipes and products - I'm confident you'll be a winner - after all, every My Secret Kitchen product has the X Factor!

Enjoy!

Clare

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Hoummus topped with Saffron Tagine Chick Peas & Smoked Oil

Serves 8-10

1 x can of chick peas drained and rinsed (240g)
3 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp My Secret Kitchen Wild Garlic Secret Spices
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 tbsp light olive oil
50ml cold water, more as required
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Saffron Tagine Paste
2 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Oak Smoked Rapeseed Oil
1 tbsp tomato puree
Handful fresh coriander, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

To make the chick pea topping, take 2 tbsp of the chick peas, mix together in a small bowl with the red onion, tomato puree, chopped coriander, Oak Smoked Rapeseed Oil and 1 tbsp of the Saffron Tagine Paste and put to one side. To make the hoummus, blend all the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor, adding more water as required.  Check the seasoning to taste and serve in a bowl with the seasoned chick peas scattered over the top.

Sunflower Seeded Honey Beer Bread

Makes 1 loaf

1 x My Secret Kitchen Wholegrain Beer Bread Mix
50g sunflower seeds
1 tbsp honey
150ml fizzy beverage

Preheat oven 175°C / Gas Mark 4. Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin. Empty the Beer Bread Mix into a bowl, add the sunflower seeds and mix together.  Make a well in the centre and add the fizzy beverage and then the honey.  Mix quickly and thoroughly until all the ingredients are combined.  Spoon the dough into the loaf tin and roughly smooth over. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. For an added touch you can top the loaf with more sunflower seeds and a drizzle of Oak Smoked Rapeseed Oil as it goes in the oven.  To make the bread into crackers, leave until completely cold (preferably overnight) and slice into thin slices.  Bake in a low oven, turning once, until crunchy and golden brown.

Forever Foodies

Clare Moran (Co-Founder)

Every month our lovely foodie consultants (or gastronauts as we sometimes call them!) get together at local team meetings for business support and inspiration.  For their meetings we come up with new recipes to try out – last month we put together some gorgeous Artichoke Pesto & gruyere puffs as well as stuffed baby potatoes with Tapenade with Smoked Garlic and a fabulous dairy free banana and Fig Pudding Pickle smoothie. 

Joy, Jane & Suzette

Artichoke Pesto & Gruyere Puffs

Makes 24 appetisers

2 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Artichoke Pesto

3 medium eggs
100g gruyere cheese, finely grated
3 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Original Beer Bread Mix
My Secret Kitchen Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt

Preheat oven 200°C / Gas Mark 6. Grease a mini muffin pan with olive oil and place in the oven to heat.
Whisk together the eggs in a medium bowl and whisk in the Artichoke Pesto. Add the grated cheese and season with Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt.  Add the Original Beer Bread Mix and quickly mix. Divide the mixture equally between the muffin pan and bake for 8 to 10 minutes until golden and puffed.  Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan. 

It never ceases to amaze me the wonderful people we meet and whom join us as consultants – foodies who are first-time business people or business people who see the potential in our food; either way, all our consultants love sharing our foods with people in an authentic way. 

Take Suzanne Alexander in Melton Mowbray – using the same recipe as the puffs, she created these fabulous blinis and combined them with Wild Garlic sour cream.

So hats off to all you foodies and being creative with our ingredients; at My Secret Kitchen you know we will never compromise on taste, value and versatility.  You don’t need to be a whizz in the kitchen to be one of our consultants – just an entrepreneurial spirit with a touch of foodie passion and we can provide the rest of the support you need – and perhaps you are the star of your own foodie show after all! 

(don’t forget you can email us to find out a little more or complete our online enquiry form)

Clare

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