Pandesal (Filipino sweet bread rolls)

So.  I have been amiss with the blogging and the writing. And in my last post, I forgot to mention the newest addition to our family!  We got a dog!

Late last year we got an 8 week old Labrador Cross and it has changed our lives immensely - from our daily routine to everything we eat at home.  The puppy was from an office colleague who's pet Labrador gave birth to 9 puppies!!  Of course, when she asked if we wanted one, it was a big fat YES please!  Eleven months on and our home is now double the activity - noise, mess and everything in between.  Lucky is a bundle of mess and joy! We've lost shoes and slippers and towels and old toys from biting and gnawing and every little budding plant in the backyard dug up, twigs and branches scattered about and the smell of stinking poo and pee!  But....... we are happy.  He brings us unconditional love and the happy yapping and tail wagging that welcomes everyone at the door every day is just priceless.  When you get a pet, I think there's that extra dose of tolerance, patience and generosity that comes out of you. Walks have turned into running because we're chasing him more, and play time at home has become more frequent.  Hubby is happy he's got a running buddy and an extra testosterone in the house and the girls are loving the play time - a much needed break from their gadgets and laptops.

I read one of those memes circling around my social media feeds - when you have teenagers, get yourself a dog. It seems apt with the girls now donning high school and teen hats!

Back to food and this pandesal.  This has been a fave recipe of ours since I started experimenting on making bread at home about 6 years ago.  Pandesal is a Filipino bread roll, it has subtle sweetness and saltiness and is a staple in most Filipino breakfast tables - even afternoon tea, really. Pandesals are sold by every corner bakeshop in the Philippines and they are delicious warm with slathers of butter or margarine.  This can be made by hand, using a stand mixer, and most recently, I converted the recipe for the Thermomix (recipe is in the Recipe Community), if you're interested in that method. But here is the traditional one with pictures to guide you along the way.

Ingredients

500 ml luke warm water, 37*-38*C 

2 teaspoons dried active yeast

1 teaspoon caster sugar (to activate the yeast)

75 grams (or 1/3 cup) caster sugar (for the dough)

55 ml sunflower oil (or any neutral smelling oil)

 

900 grams (6 cups) strong bakers flour

1 adn 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes*

 

1-2 cups bread crumbs (store bought or homemade for coating the rolls)

 

 

Method

 

In a medium sized bowl, combine the water, yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar and stir with a spoon until the sugar is dissolved.  Rest for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast.  It should appear bubbly.

 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the remaining sugar and oil and mix until smooth.  

 

Replace the attachment with a dough hook, then add 1 cup of flour first, and the yeast mixture.  Turn on the mixer to combine.

 

Add the salt, and the remaining flour, one cup at a time, and knead until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 3-5 minutes.

 

Take the bowl, cover with cling wrap and set aside to prove.  Minimum of 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

 

Prepare and line two baking trays with parchment paper. 

 

Place the breadcrumbs into a medium sized bowl and set aside. 

 

Sprinkle some flour onto a clean kitchen bench and take the dough from the bowl. 

 

Divide the round dough into quarters.

 

Roll each quarter into a log and cut using a sharp knife or dough scraper into 5-6 cm pieces.

 

Dip each pandesal/roll piece into the bread crumbs bowl to coat.

Place the pandesal/roll onto the prepared baking tray, leaving about 2cm in between each piece.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Cover the tray with a tea towel and place in a warm spot to prove further - 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the pandesal/rolls have doubled in volume.

Preheat the oven to 180*C.

Once the pandesal/rolls have rested and doubled in size, place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve with butter or margarine!

 

 

Tips!

 

* when using iodized or fine salt, just use 1 teaspoon

 

* for the second proving, the longer you rest the dough, the more you'll get fluffier and soft rolls when baked

 

* the pandesal/rolls are best eaten while still warm, but can still be served the next day toasted or warmed in the oven. 

This will be your dough, resting and risen after proving.

Divide the dough into quarters, then roll each quarter into logs then cut into pandesal/rolls.

The pandsal/rolls cut into 5-6cm pieces.  The size will depend on your preference. 

Coat the cut pieces with bread crumbs, then place onto the tray with the cut side up. 

The pandesal/rolls will have doubled in size after second proving, and they will be touching each other, side by side like here.

The pandesal/rolls baking in the oven.

And this will be your freshly baked pandesal!

As with all baking experiments, there will be times when the bread will have unexpected results - bread too hard, or burnt or doughy.  It always pays to try again.  We have had numerous fails before we nailed this recipe.  One version was even so tough the birds visiting our backyard were not even half interested in the crumbs we put out for them.  Just try until you get the results you want.  And if you have any questions, just let me know.   I'm doing a sour dough project at the moment, experimenting on starters and baking artisan sour dough breads.  I have posted photos on my Facebook page and will write a post about my sour dough adventure in upcoming posts.


And going back to our much loved Lucky, who will be turning 1 next  month! We are looking at making a special savoury birthday cake - meatloaf! What do you think?  Should we make something sweet?  Do you have pets at home who have overtaken your lives in the most joyful way?  Share your stories here!

Empanadas (empanaditas)

Heirloom recipes.  Do you have those?  Handed and taught down from generation to generation through family members?  

 

 

I don’t have an image of me growing up with my grandmother on one side and mother on another, dabbling with ingredients in the kitchen or making  a mess with flour and sprinkles.

Inay, my grandmother (mother side), was not so much a kitchen person.  She’ll concoct some traditional Tagalog / Filipino dishes every now and then, effortlessly.  The few times she’s in the kitchen, she can work magic with simple ingredients – from scratch.  And I mean from a live chicken to a dish on the table.  That type of cooking.  Other than those few magic moments, she’s really a Martha-Stewart-recycling-DIY-kinda-gal.  She’ll make a “walis ting-ting” – broom made of sticks from dried coconut palm leaves.  She’ll idle away the time making floor rags from old fabrics and old t-shirts.  She’ll clean the hell out of old coffee, jam, peanut butter jars and reuse them as drinking glasses and tumblers at home, she’ll be happily tinkering away the afternoon in her sewing machine. At the best of times, she’d be making mean "pinais na tulingan" (slow braised tuna in tamarind or kamias), tinolang manok with malunggay (native chicken tinola with moringa leaves).  Her cooking was always simple with fresh ingredients and as organic as would be called now. 


Now my grandmother on my father's side is the all the time cook.  Although I have never spent time with her side by side in the kitchen (she's lived in the US since we were born with a few visits in the Philippines while growing up),  I have gotten to know her through her cooking.  The few times she's visited us was always a lesson in the kitchen.  And this is her recipe. One of the dishes she can throw all together in a bowl without batting an eyelash, without measurements, and it always comes out perfect.    And whenever they make this at my aunt's home in NJ, everyone pitches in and make these.

Now like all recipes, as long as you have the ingredients on hand it's really up to you to adjust the quantities as it suits your taste.  The flavour, feel and texture is entirely up to you.  I have tweaked my grandmother's recipe for the filling to suit our preferene at home.

There are two elements to this recipe - the filling and the dough/pastry.   

Ingredients and method for the filling:

 500 grams minced pork (or beef or chicken)

 1 large onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 large potato, diced

2 medium sized carrots, diced

1 red capsicum, diced

1 stick celery, diced

1 cup frozen green peas

2-3 tablespoons soy sauce

salt and pepper, to taste

vegetable oil

2 teaspoon of chilli flakes (optional) 

In a large skillet or wok, pour about two tablespoons of vegetable oil and heat the pan.

Saute the onions and garlic until soft and fragrant.

Add the minced meat and cook stirring until almost brown, 5-10 minutes

Add the potatoes, carrots, capsicum, celery and cook stirring to coat all the ingredients.

Add soy sauce and season with salt and pepper.

Turn the heat to medium and simmer until meat and vegetables are cooked through, 10-15 minutes.

Add the frozen green peas and sprinkel the chilli flakes if using.

Simmer for another5 minutes then turn off heat.

Spoon onto a large bowl and let it cool.  

Make sure the filling is completely cool before making the empanada/empanaditas.

Ingredientes and method for the  dough:

170 grams butter, cold cut into cubes

3 and 1/2 cups plain flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup cold water

1 beaten egg + 1 tablespoon of water for the egg wash

2 tablespoon milk or water for sealing

Combine all the  dry ingredients in a bowl and rub the ingredients with your hands until it resembles fine crumbs.  Slowly add the water (a little at a time) and continue to mix with your hands until it forms into a ball.

* Alternatively, you can process the butter, flour and sugar in a processor, then slowly pour the cold water until the mixture forms into a ball.

Flatten the dough slightly and chill in the refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.

Place the dough on a flat surface, and using a rolling pin flatten the dough to abou 1-2 cm thick.  

Cut the dough with a cookie cutter (your desired size - can be bigger or smaller).

Filling the dough:   (see photo below).   

Press on the sides of the dough to slightly thin them out.  Seal one side with milk.

Fill the dough with a tablespoon of the filling.

Slowly pinch the sides to seal the empanada.

Place on the flat surface and using your thumb/finger, press the sides of the empanada.

Further seal the edges with a fork.  Place all finished empanadas on a lined baking tray.

Continue with the other dough/filling.  

Baking the empanadas/empanaditas

Before baking, preheat oven to 180*C.

Brush the empanadas/empanaditas with egg wash.

Bake in the oven until golden, 30-40 minutes. 

 

Tips and tricks

* The butter needs to be cold when making the dough, not softened or melting;

* When making the filling, you can add other ingredients to suit your preference.  You can make it entirely vegetarian too.

* Alternatively, you can also deep fry the empanadas until golden, then drain on paper towels.

* Create small air pockets on the empanadas prior to baking so they don't inflat too much leaving a space between the dough and the filling.  I usually use a small knife or a fork to do this.

* This dough which my grandmother uses does not have the flaky texture when baked.  If you prefer a flaky dough, you will need to roll until thin, fold, then roll, and fold and roll.  The layers from rolling and folding several times creates the layers which results in a flaky dough.

* Some empanada recipes calls for lard and butter combined, which also helps in creating a flaky texture when baked.  Trissalicious shares in her blog a secret for a flaky empanada. 

* Store-bought puff pastry can also be used to make these empanadas.

* They are called empanadas when they are bigger, like the palm of one's hands.  This recipe for empanaditas are bite-sized and a little fiddly to make (photos show scale).  You can always adjust the size to suit your preference.

From Inay Mercedes and lola/grandmother Antonia, this is my heirloom - memories of good old fashion, no-nonsence cooking.  No fancy antique jewelries here, or grand estates. 


And this family recipe, I'll recreate a tradition at home when making this - as these are bite-sized pieces, I'll gather the girls around the table, pinch away dough and seams and filling and sharing stories and creating new memories.

 

Ensaymada - sweet Filipino pastry

Last week was the busiest our kitchen has ever been.  Testing and testing cake and cupcake recipes and shoppiing and preparing for that weekend party.  You know, all those little things you plan and do for a milestone birthday?  Yeah.  That.  I had it all in my head a couple of weeks back.  Just a simple birthday party with some popcorn and a few DVDs.  But then someone whispered in my ear something that made absolute sense - it is a 10th year birthday  sothere needs to be a little bit more than DVD and popcorn.  And so, hours and hours of Pinterest browsing happened.  There were pom poms to be made, lootbags and decorations to be bought, and a two-weeks-before idea of a Minute-to-Win-It game was thought of.  There were cupcakes and cupcakes and cakes baked and eaten even before the weekened kicked in.

And all those days of planning and preparation went off in 4 hours.  I'd say with lots of happy cheers, fun and laughs.  It was all worth it. Check out my IG gallery for some of the photos.

Here's a photo of the cakes on the day - Chiffon Cake wtih creme chantilly frosting and honeycomb bits, Chocolate Biscuit Cake with strawberries, Chocolate Cake with pink Italian Meringue Buttercream with raspberries.

Now back to blogging and this. A long over due post which was promised weeks ago to some IG friends.  A Goldilocks Bakebook recipe for the most-loved Filipino sweet pastry called Ensaymada. 

To make this Filipino sweet bread:

1 packet Tandaco instant dry yeast

160 ml warm water

450g plain flour, sifted

65g caster sugar

2 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

60 ml evaporated milk

80g unsalted butter, melted


Toppings:

50g unsalted butter, melted (extra for brushing)

Half to 1 cup grated cheese

Half cup raw sugar

Method (a few in photos)

Dissolve the yeast in 60ml of the water and add half a teaspoon of the sugar.  Let this sit for about 10 minutes until the mixture develops bubbles.

In a mixing bowl with the dough hook, place the sifted flour, sugar and salt and mix until incorporated.

Add the dissolved yeast, remaining water, eggs and evaporated milk.

Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until the gluten develops - approximately 4-5 minutes.  

Add the melted butter and continue mixing until the gluten develops. The dough will be a little bit sticky. (see below photo)

Keep the dough in the bowl, cover with cling wrap and and let it sit for 15-30 minutes at room temperature.

Punch down the dough in the bowl to release air pockets.

Place dough on your kitchen bench sprinkled with a little flour.

Divide the dough into 4 parts.  Then divide into pieces - approximately 50-60g each.  Cover with a plastic sheet or tea towel and leave for another 15 minutes.

To make the individual rolls, get one piece of the 60g dough and using a rolling pin, roll the dough piece into a rectangle, ideally 8" x 5".  Otherwise, as long as you roll them thinly, I don't think the size will matter.

Brush the surface with butter. 

Roll the thin dough into a rod

Then twirl into shape, locking the ends to seal.

Place each roll into individual greased mini pans (or ensaymada moulds), or simply use a lined round or square pan like I did.

Cover with a tea towel and let the dough rise until double in size.  Approximately 30 mintues to 1 hour, at room temperature.

Bake in a preheated 180*C oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden in colour.

Let the bread cool for 10-15 minutes.  Brush with butter and sprinkle with raw sugar and  grated cheese.

Tips:  

* A batch of this makes 15-18 rolls

 

* Rolling the dough thinly creates the soft layers in the roll

 

* When rolling the dough, make sure your bench top is generously sprinkled with flour to avoid the dough from sticking on the table/bench top.

*  You can fill the dough with anything. Instead of butter, we tried Nutella and it worked perfectly well.  You can use purple yam jam (ube jam) or coconut jam for another Filipino variety. 

Foreground - the rolls with Nutella filling

Background - the ensaymade rolls with butter filling

I think I need to be more generous with the Nutella next time.

Grated cheese on top!  Yummy!

To make these Filipino ensaymada rolls is similar to making cinnamon rolls we've made here, sans the cinnamon but different in a way that it's rolled thinly and the bread is soft.  What makes it Filipino is the combination of sweet and savoury in the rolls - butter, sugar and cheese for toppings!  Where else can you find that combination?!  Hope you enjoy yourselves making these.

Now, I'm still reeling from that weekend party.  We have outdone ourselves with the mess and cleaning up we've made, which only means one thing.  The party was a success!  All the kids enjoyed playing the challenges, filled themselves with party food and cake!  Ooh, and they loved the cakes!  Well, I guess the chocolate cakes had the bigger fan base.

Hot cross buns

 

I'm a stickler for tradition.  As much as possible, I'd like to create them and my family (hubby and kids) are in for the money. I'm talking about tradition which we'd all agree we'd like to keep and grow with, alongside those that hubby and me have learned from when/where we grew up.  Its a bit of a challenge when you move overseas and you're left to you own devices to create your own little circle and keeping to traditions you grew up with is part of the challenge.  In the absence of elderly folks, its up to us (hubby and me) as first generation migrants to step up to the challenge and make sure that our girls grow up, not just assimilating into the Australian way of life, but also keeping to the traditions and culture of Filipinos.

Lent always brings  me back to this - traditions and keeping them. Growing up in a predominantly Catholic environment where generally everyone celebrates Lent and the Holy Week (from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday) with rituals and celebrations, its difficult to replicate the same in an environment that is multi-denomination.   For one, churches in the Philippines are open 24hours during this time where people are encouraged to come in and do their own prayers and offerings.  In some other parts of the country, there are rituals re-enacting Christ carrying the cross up to the crucifixion (Warning - some people may be put off watching these footage - something I've never seen in person).  Growing up, our Holy Week would begin with prayers and songs offered as part of the "Pabasa" at the local church, doing stations of the cross with my mom, a late evening mass on Good Friday (where the priests would reenact the washing of the apostle's feet), and a dawn procession on Easter, then mass in the morning.   When we were younger, Easter egg hunt at home was a luxury and eventually stopped when we grew older.  As a teenager then, this was such a feat that I dreaded, to be honest.  But now, I wish I could give the same experience to my girls. 

So far, we have managed to stick to a few during Easter - , drive around the local suburbs to visit 7 different churches to offer prayers on Good Friday or Black Saturday (called Bisita Iglesia in the Philippines, this entailed doing the stations of the cross in each church visited) mass at the local church on Easter Sunday, potluck lunch at home and hubby's life-changing Easter egg hunt in the backyard. 

Now, Filipinos don't have Hot Cross Buns during Lent, and I've never in my life before moving to Australia knew of these deliciousness.  In the past, we've always bought the famous-bakeshop varieties, or the supermarket-brand ones.  But last year, it changed.  Call it a new tradition, but when I saw this from Bron Marshall's IG feed, there was this calling to make them. I love how Bron shared her family's tradition through her recipe.  Hot. Cross. Buns.  I've made these many times now and everyone who ever tasted them loved them - and gave their definiltey-better-than-any-other-hot-cross-buns-they've-ever-tasted-2-thumbs-up.  Making your own hot cross buns at home is definilty worth the time and the effort.    

I've adapted Bron's recipe here.

300ml warm water

90g brown sugar, lightly packed

1 and 1/2 sachet (3 teaspoons) Tandaco dry yeast

4 cups bread flour

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons milk powder

2 teaspoons mixed spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of ground cloves

1 teaspoon salt

75g dried currants

75g sultanas

40g mixed peel

50g unsalted butter, melted

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup flour, extra for piping

80ml water, for piping

Method

In a medium sized bowl, dissolve the brown sugar in the warm water.  Sprinkle the dry yeast and set aside.  The sugar will activate the yeast and this will become bubbly and foamy.

In a large bowl sift the bread flour, milk powder, ground spices and salt.  Then add the dried fruits.

Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer.

Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, then pour in the melted butter.  Mix until the dough is smooth and comes off the sides of the bowl.

(If using hands, knead the dough for 8-10 minutes until smooth).

Cover the bowl with cling-wrap and set aside until double in size.

The dough has seriously doubled in size

Lightly grease and line a square 23cm brownie or cake pan/tray.

Cut the dough into 55-60g and shape into balls.  

Shape the dough into rounds/balls, weighed into 50-60g each

Cover with the tray with a damp tea towel and place in a warm spot and let rise for 1 hour or more.

Preheat the oven to 200*C.

Prepare your piping paste - combine the extra flour and water and mix to a piping texture and consistency.  Transfer to a piping bag and set aside.

Once the buns are ready (buns have risen after an hour), brush the tops with the egg wash.

Pipe lines across the buns to form crosses on the tops using your flour-paste mixture. 

Brushed with egg-wash and piped with the flour-water mixture

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.  

Serve immediately with a slather of butter.  Or keep some for tomorrow's tea.

How about you?  Do you have Lenten/Easter traditions you grew up and keep to this day?  What foods do you usually serve on this holy season?  

Steamed milk cupcakes (Filipino puto)

There's an unwritten Filipino tradition that every family observes on the eve of new year. It doesn't matter which part of the world we are, generally all Filipino families practice this.  And that is to plate or serve round types of food.  Whether its a basket full of round fruits or dishes with round ingredients, it is a custom that's hard to ignore.  Why?  Well supposedly round-shaped foods and fruits bring good luck for the new year. Everybody wants good luck for the new year, right?  Who wouldn't?

This practice is obviously brought and influenced by the Chinese. Whether its fad or tradition, we follow what we grew up with. So round fruits always adorn our table every new year.  Here's an old article mined from 2010 about this practice.

And while we are in the subject of round foods, why not a classic Filipino round sweet treat for a first post of the year!  So  here it is, a recipe shared to me by an ex office colleague for steamed milk cupcakes, or "puto" as what is locally called back home.

Puto/s are traditionally made using rice flour, hence called steamed rice cupcakes or cakes.  They're also made using banana leaves trimmed to fit the round mini cakes.  They also come in lots of colours (no flavours) and sometimes with pandan and coconut flavours.

But this particular recipe is easy.  It uses plain flour and pantry staples.  And its no bake.  I've prepared this using a make-shift steamer: a large wok, a round grill or cooling rack placed on top of the water and mini cupcake pans. Of course if you own a steamer, this will be an easier feat.  Otherwise, you can always use the oven and make this using a bain-marie: a roasting rack with a little water, your cupcake pan then covered with aluminum foil. 

To make this recipe
(Print the recipe here)

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose/plain flour

1 1/2 cups milk or 1 can 375ml evaporated milk

3 tablespoons baking powder

2 cups caster sugar

1 1/2 cups water

3 eggs

cheese slices/squares or grated for topping

Method

In a large bowl using a whisk, mix all ingredients together.

Pour into muffin/cupcake pans.

Top with cheese.

Place in the steamer (or bain marie in the oven) and cook for 20 minutes.

Test with a toothpick or skewer.  Stick should come out clean.

 

The classic combo for this sweet treat is puto and dinuguan (blood pudding).  If you haven't tried this, just leave it to your imagination.  It may seem a odd.  Wierd even. But the combination is divine. Savoury and sweet at the same time.  Black and white.  Ebony and ivory.  But that's Filipino food for you.    It's like no other I must say.  Now I'm not going to push anyone to try dinuguan (blood pudding, why I'm the only one at home who likes this stuff!  And I'm yet to learn how to make it!), but this sweet round treat should be an easy must-try for those who are keen for something different.

So how about you?  Do you have family traditions that you follow from where you grew up?  Or are you making your own traditions?  And while we're at it, do you have any foodie resolutions and goal this year?

Perfect diner pancakes

There was a time in my life, a long long time ago when I ate pancakes (alternating with waffles) every single day.  This was during singlehood.  I'll be the earliest bird at the office but would pass by a nearby restaurant cafe before signing in (the only one open at 630am) called the Pancake House. Well, what else would you want to eat at this place? All sorts of pancakes and waffle flavours, both sweet and savoury.  Of course, they also serve the usual American and Filipino breakfasts.  Anyways, at the time, that singlehood era, these breakfasts are the best hang over food. And being up early after a late night, back in the day when my energy were bursting out of me like the Energizer bunny, a hefty breakfast is the only way to start the day right.  Before heading off to work.

Ok, now with kids and energies drained at the end of the day, a good breakfast always has to be on the table. Especially on weekends when time can move in slow motion.  In our home anyway.  

And these pancakes, these perfect diner pancakes are our favourite.  You can whip it up any time of the day, any of day of the week.  And they are the ones we love.  Thick, fluffy pancakes.  Oozing with real maple syrup (or chocolate syrup) and the taste of melted butter, plus some sliced strawberries on top.  Heaven!

This recipe is adapted from the Tasty Kitchen. 
And to make these mouth-watering diner pancakes:
(Print the recipe here)

1 cup plain flour

1/3 cup malted milk powder *

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bi carbonate of soda

180ml milk

1 XL free range egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

45g butter, melted

*malted milk powder is readily available at any of your local supermarket or grocery.  The one we always use at home is the Nestle brand

In a medium sized bowl combine all dry ingredients (flour, malt milk powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder) and use a whisk to combine together.

In a large measuring jug or a small bowl, using a fork, whisk the milk, egg and vanilla until frothy.

Add the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Add the melted butter mix thoroughly.

Rest for 45 mintues to allow the mixture to thicken, while you're preparing your non-stick pan.

Once pan is on medium heat, using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop and pour the batter into the pan and cook until bubbles appear on top.   (Try and flip the pancake halfway to make sure it's not burned and the bubbles aren't forming yet.  It could be that your pan is too hot.  Adjust the heat to medium.)

To adjust batter thickness, add a tablespoon of milk at a time and whisk until you get the desired consistency.  You want a batter that's not too thick but not too thin.

Serve with your favourite syrup and some sliced fresh fruits!

We've tried other pancake recipes before but we've found gold in this one.  This is pancake, just the way we like it.

How about you? Do you like them thin and flat and almost like crepes?  Or do you like them thick and fluffy just like them American diner pancakes? 

Banana porridge with date and verjuice compote

I know it's already spring, but porridge is not really just for the cold weather, right?  It's way up there in the list with the title "comfort food".  Any version whether its the Chinese congee or the Filipino lugaw, a good porridge brings us back there - sitting on your grandmother or grandfather's (or you rmum's or dad's) lap listening to tall tales, folk lore and colourful adventures.  Comfort food hugs you tight and gives you warmth.

Well, this isn't a recipe passed on to me by family, but the first time I tasted it, it just felt good. It was at a blogger's brunch party at Kazbah in Balmain.  One of the 8 dishes served on the day, this one stuck with me.  It was served to share, in a massive bowl with some date compote on top.  It was simple and yet, that one spoonful was not enough.  And then another.  There was a nutty taste to the porridge and a certain bite at every mouthful.  And we can only guess it's barley.  So I've tested and made this up.    And this is it.

To make this, I had to adjust as I went, tasting and tasting every minute, just to get it right.

To make the banana porridge:

(Print the recipe here)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup rice flakes

1/2 cup barley

3 over-ripe bananas, mashed

2 cups (480ml) water

2 cups (480ml) milk

1/4 cup raw sugar (or more to suit your taste)

In a medium sized pot, put together the oats, rice flakes and barley.  Add water and bring to a boil.

Add the milk and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer.  Stir occasionally to make sure porridge is not sticking at the bottom of the pot.

Add the bananas and continue to simmer (about 20-30 minutes) or until barley is cooked.  (You will know when its cooked as they will be soft but still have that bite).

If the porridge becomes to thick, just add a quarter cup of milk at a time, stir then taste.   Add sugar to suit your taste.  But the natural sweetness of the ripe bananas should be fine.

The cast of characters

To make the date and verjuice compote:

1 cup dried pitted dates

2 cups verjuice

In a small pot, pour the verjuice and add the dates. Bring to a boil then slow simmer until the dates have softened and the sauce reduced.  Set aside to cool.

For a sweeter version of this compote, you can add 1 tablespoon raw sugar to the mixture while simmering.    

Or you can try Suzanne Husseini's version in her book Modern Flavours of Arabia which I found through Emma's My Darling Lemon Thyme where she used fresh orange and lemons. 

The date compote was made with verjuice so the natural sweetness of the dates came through.   This was unlike the one that topped what we ate at Kazbah (which was sweeter), so hubby was not sold to the compote on top.  But he gives two thumbs up to the porridge.   Beats any 90 second breakfast oats at any time.   Drizzled with some honey (or real maple syrup) and serve.  With love and lots of hugs.