Banana Bread




Remembering my time working in hotels, I was thinking about how I was irritated by the banana bread recipes that I was using. They gave a pretty good result, it was tasty and moist but they had nothing to do with bread. They were cake recipes along the same lines than carrot cake ones: butter, brown sugar, eggs, baking powder...

A bread dough is basically water/milk, flour, yeast. So, following that precept I came up with this recipe:

Recipe for a 1lb tin mold:
  • 250g Spelt flour.
  • 250g Strong flour.
  • 2 Medium sized bananas.
  • 7g Dried yeast.
  • 1 Tablespoon honey.
  • 1 pinch of salt.
  • 50g Almonds, toasted and skinned.
  • 50g Pecan nuts, toasted and skinned.
  • 1 Tablespoon of goji berries.
  • 1 Tablespoon dried banana chips.
  • 2 Tablespoons linseeds.
  • 150g Soya milk.

It is very simple, this recipe works exactly like a traditional bread recipe. First of all peel and mash the bananas, and coarsely chop the nuts.

Then take a "kenwood" type food processor and put all the dry ingredients along with honey and mashed bananas. Stick the bread hook on and set the machine on a slow motion for 5 minutes. Then add in the soya milk and set the machine at a medium speed for 10minutes. When the dough is ready put in a warm place to raise for 1h or so (it should double or triple in volume).

Put the dough back in the food processor and set it at a medium speed for another 10 minutes.

When this is done, put the dough on a clean, floured surface and knead for another 10 minutes.

Make a bowl with dough and put it in a 1 lb tin mold and put it in a warm place to raise for 1h.

Meanwhile, set your oven at 180 degrees Celsius (356 F). Then, when the dough has doubled in size put it to bake. After 20 minutes of baking take your bread out of its mold and put it back in the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes.


When cooked, allow to cool on a pastry rack.

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

Vegan, Vegetarian, dairy free, suitable for pregnant women, contains gluten. Contains Nuts. Suitable for freezing.

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Carrot, Ginger and Orange Soup


There is a very simple recipe that uses the principles used to thickened sauces with particles. As funny as it may sounds, a soup is by definition a liquid thickened by vegetables, seafood (bisque), fish or fruits pure.

This recipe follows that principle but I added a little bit of starch and fat globules to help to achieve a nice velvety consistency. So this is how it goes:
Recipe for 4 to 6 people:
  • 6 medium or 10 small Carrots, washed, peeled and coarsely chopped.
  • 1 small shallots, peeled and coarsely chopped.
  • 50g Ginger, finely chopped.
  • 1 small clove or Garlic, crushed.
  • 2 Oranges, peeled and coarsely chopped.
  • 1 Cardamon pod, crushed.
  • 1 litre vegetable bouillon.
  • 1 Tablespoon of rice.
  • 1/4 litre of cream fresh or soy cream.

Place the carrots, shallots and ginger in a thick bottomed pot and sweat them off for 10 minutes. Make sure that they don't get brown. Then add the rice, garlic, cardamon and oranges and pour in the bouillon. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

When cooked, add in the cream/soy cream and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes.

Take the pot of the eat and allow it to cool down a little bit before pouring the soup into a food processor. Blitz the mixture until it reaches a nice velvety texture.

Pass the soup through a fine chinois and check the consistency and seasoning.

Serve piping hot.

"I live on good soup, not on fine words."

Moliere

Suitable for Vegetarian, Vegan, Pregnant Women, Coeliacs and Diabetics. Contains dairies if using cream. Nut free. Suitable for freezing.

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