Charlotte Pike

Award-winning food writer Charlotte Pike
Recipes, foodie guides and news from my kitchen

Breakfast

Smoked Haddock Kedgeree

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Having tried dozens of kedgeree recipes, I think this one is the best. It’s rich, spicy and surprisingly complex in flavour and adapted from the recipe in Leith’s Fish Bible. Make sure you taste and adjust the seasoning once everything is assembled, as I think it often needs a bit more salt at the very end.

Smoked Haddock Kedgeree
Serves 4
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Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
10 min
Total Time
30 min
570 calories
55 g
163 g
29 g
23 g
17 g
246 g
261 g
3 g
1 g
10 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
246g
Servings
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 570
Calories from Fat 256
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 29g
45%
Saturated Fat 17g
85%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g
Monounsaturated Fat 8g
Cholesterol 163mg
54%
Sodium 261mg
11%
Total Carbohydrates 55g
18%
Dietary Fiber 4g
15%
Sugars 3g
Protein 23g
Vitamin A
22%
Vitamin C
68%
Calcium
6%
Iron
11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Ingredients
  1. 250g Basmati rice (use white or brown, but white is much quicker to cook)
  2. 125g butter
  3. 1 medium white onion, peeled and finely chopped
  4. 5cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
  5. 1 large green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  6. 2 large whole fillets natural smoked haddock, skin removed and cut into 3cm chunks
  7. 1 heaped tsp turmeric
  8. 1 heaped tsp good quality curry powder (choose your preferred heat)
  9. Sea salt
  10. Halved boiled eggs, to serve (one per person is usually enough, unless you like more)
  11. Lemon wedges, to serve
  12. Fresh coriander, to serve (optional)
Instructions
  1. Start by boiling the rice according to pack instructions.
  2. Whilst the rice is cooking, place half of the butter into a separate large frying pan and melt over a moderate heat. Add the onion and cook for around 5 minutes, until it softens and becomes translucent. Be sure to keep the heat under control so that the onion does not colour.
  3. Then, add the ginger, chilli and fish and cook for a further 5 minutes. The fish will start to cook in the butter.
  4. Put the eggs on to boil in a separate pan. Bring to the boil and cook for 7 minutes, then drain.
  5. Add the spices to the pan with the fish, and stir fry to cook the spices. Continue to cook until the fish is cooked though. It will flake into smaller pieces as it cooks, so stir gently so as not to break it up completely.
  6. By this time, the Basmati rice should be cooked. Spoon the rice into the pan with the fish and add the rest of the butter. Stir gently, but thoroughly, to ensure the rice is evenly coated in the spicy butter.
  7. Peel the eggs now and cut them in half. Give the kedgeree a final stir, season and adjust accordingly. It may need a bit more salt, it may need a bit more butter if it’s on the dry side, or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
  8. Serve on warmed plates with more lemon wedges and fresh coriander for some extra colour.
Adapted from from Leith's Fish Bible
beta
calories
570
fat
29g
protein
23g
carbs
55g
more
Adapted from from Leith's Fish Bible
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/

 

 

Date Crumble Muffins

By 2 Comments

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This is a recipe I picked up on my visit to Ras Al Khaimah. Dates are a national staple of the UAE, and the quality of the dates grown here are just sensational. Visit the markets, and you can find fresh yellow dates for sale, visit the supermarket and you’ll find cheap dates and date syrup available, and visit the high-end boutiques for finger-sized dates, stuffed with whole nuts, enrobed in chocolate and spiced with cardamom. In fact, there’s even a date souk in Abu Dhabi you can visit.

I always return with plenty of dates in my suitcase, as well as a couple of bottles of date syrup to tide me over until my next visit. Although both are available in the UK, there’s nothing quite like UAE dates, to me.

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Although date muffins are not necessarily the typical cuisine one might imagine found in the Middle East, that’s where the idea came from. I’ve adjusted the recipe quite radically, as I didn’t find the originally worked frightfully well. These muffins are easy to make, and rely on storecupboard ingredients, so they’re a good one to rustle up when the cupboard is bare. The quality of dates here is crucial – do be sure to choose good, fudgy dates, not the dry cubes so often sold for use in baking.

These are excellent served with good, strong coffee.

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Date Crumble Muffins
Serves 12
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
436 calories
68 g
46 g
16 g
6 g
5 g
130 g
553 g
34 g
0 g
11 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
130g
Servings
12
Amount Per Serving
Calories 436
Calories from Fat 142
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 16g
25%
Saturated Fat 5g
24%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 7g
Monounsaturated Fat 4g
Cholesterol 46mg
15%
Sodium 553mg
23%
Total Carbohydrates 68g
23%
Dietary Fiber 2g
10%
Sugars 34g
Protein 6g
Vitamin A
5%
Vitamin C
6%
Calcium
16%
Iron
12%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Ingredients
  1. For the crumble
  2. 75g plain flour
  3. 75g caster sugar
  4. 75g cold, salted butter
  5. For the muffins
  6. 200ml whole milk
  7. Juice of 1 lemon
  8. 450g self raising flour
  9. Pinch sea salt
  10. 200g caster sugar
  11. 150g good quality dates, stone removed and cut in half, lenghthways
  12. 120ml sunflower oil
  13. 30g date syrup
  14. 2 large eggs, beaten
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C or Gas Mark 4. Set out cake cases in a muffin tin and place to one side. This mixture makes around a dozen muffins using tulip cases, or up to 16 using traditional muffin cases.
  2. First, make the crumble topping. Place all the ingredients into a bowl and rub together to form a rough breadcrumb-like mixture. Set aside.
  3. Start the muffin batter by placing the milk into a jug and adding the lemon juice. Stir gently and set aside. The lemon juice will sour the milk.
  4. Next, place the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl and stir well. Add the dates and stir again.
  5. Whisk the oil, date syrup and eggs together and pour into the dry mixture, followed immediately by the milk. Gently stir the mixture, working quickly, to incorporate all the dry ingredients into the wet.
  6. Spoon the mixture into the cases, filling them to about ¾ full. Top with a generous sprinkling of the crumble mixture.
  7. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until browned and risen. Enjoy warm or transfer to a wire rack to cool fully. These muffins will keep for up to 3 days, stored in a sealed container. They also freeze well.
beta
calories
436
fat
16g
protein
6g
carbs
68g
more
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/

Homemade granola

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GranolaThere is nothing quite like homemade granola. I first started to make it last summer. Tony and I were food shopping one evening and he picked up a pack of gluten free granola which had caught his eye. I took one look at it, clocked the price (at around £12 per kilo) and immediately replaced the packet on the shop shelf. “I can make something much better than that, for much less!”, I declared.

True to my word, as soon as we returned home, I turned the oven on, and made this recipe for granola, which lasted for around two days. I’ve been making it ever since. The fresh, toasted flavour of homemade granola is totally unlike anything you can buy, even from upmarket retailers.

You can mix and match the fruit, seeds and nuts you add to include your favourite ingredients. Just make it up to the total weight required in the recipe. It often turns into a kitchen cupboard raid at this stage, and I will use up open packets of fruit, nuts and seeds here.  I like to include dried cranberries, lovely large sultanas, mixed seeds and whole almonds. 

This granola is gorgeous served with milk, instead of breakfast cereal (Tony’s favourite!), or I like just a little sprinkled onto a bowl of whole milk yoghurt, topped with some fresh berries. 

I made a batch for my sister recently, who had texted me before I’d even returned home to ask for the recipe. I said I’d blog it, so here you go. Lucy, this recipe is for you. 

Homemade granola
Serves 12
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Save Recipe
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
642 calories
64 g
30 g
40 g
17 g
10 g
140 g
13 g
12 g
0 g
26 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
140g
Servings
12
Amount Per Serving
Calories 642
Calories from Fat 336
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 40g
61%
Saturated Fat 10g
52%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 10g
Monounsaturated Fat 16g
Cholesterol 30mg
10%
Sodium 13mg
1%
Total Carbohydrates 64g
21%
Dietary Fiber 10g
41%
Sugars 12g
Protein 17g
Vitamin A
19%
Vitamin C
2%
Calcium
7%
Iron
26%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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Ingredients
  1. 165g butter, or coconut butter
  2. 165g honey
  3. 450g oats
  4. 300g total weight of dried fruit, nuts and seeds
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Set aside a large baking tray. It needs to have sides, so that your granola doesn't fall off the tray.
  2. Place the butter and honey into a small saucepan over a moderate heat. Stir regularly until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat. Place the oats into a large mixing bowl, pour over the butter and honey mixture and stir well to coat the oats evenly.
  3. Tip the oats out onto the baking tray. Spread evenly and place in to the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven, turn over the oats and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. Remove the last from the oven and set aside to cool. Continue to turn the oats regularly as they cool, so that they don't stick.
  4. Place your dried fruit, nuts and seeds into a large mixing bowl. Tip in the cooled oats and stir well to combine evenly. Store in an airtight container and enjoy within a month.
beta
calories
642
fat
40g
protein
17g
carbs
64g
more
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/