Uplifting Food

This week we are sharing some of our most uplifting brunch recipes - we also find these good for the mind as well as good for the soul - as there's weighing, making and mixing involved which leads to a huge satisfaction factor as you see your creations taking shape. Thanks to Emma & Matt for the 'shoot at home' photography! 

Top Tips

We’ve got tips for poaching eggs, our house-made granola (which is definitely a treat!), indulgent potato cakes and arguably the best base for a Bloody Mary; it takes some effort, but if you’re constantly disappointed when you order them, this is one for you! 

The Recipes 

Keep these safe! They are all real 'keepers'... ! 

Mowbray Banana Bread

First up we have our banana bread - it’s really more like a cake, but by calling it bread, it makes it ok to eat for breakfast...right? This beauty also goes down a storm with our Meeting Room guests for breakfast and a mid morning coffee break. 

150g Unsalted Butter, softened
100g Caster Sugar
50g Maple Syrup or Golden Syrup
150g Self Raising Flour
3 Small or 2 medium to large, Very Ripe Bananas, mashed up 
2 Medium Eggs, beaten
5g Sea Salt Flakes

Method

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan
Line a small loaf tin with butter and parchment paper
In a mixer, cream the butter, sugar and maple syrup and using the beating attachment until light and fluffy
Gradually add the eggs to the butter sugar mixture until fully incorporated
Turn off the mixer and by hand, fold in the flour, salt and banana mixture until combined, being careful not to overmix
Pour the batter into the loaf tin and bake for approximately 30 minutes. Check with a skewer to make sure it comes out clean
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire rack

Enjoy a slice with a cup of tea or coffee in the afternoon or eat for breakfast if you can’t wait that long!

Matt's Bloody Mary Coulis

We serve Mowbray Bloody Mary's at any chance we get! You'll enjoy them at our Brunch Clubs and we have been known to serve up a bloody great Bloody Mary at our Wedding Feasts. 

1 stick of Celery, chopped finely
1 small onion, thinly sliced
30g Basil, leaves picked and stalks chopped
500 ml Tomato Passata
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
Henderson's Relish/Worcestershire Sauce
100ml White WIne Vinegar/Distilled Malt Vinegar
100g Caster Sugar/Granulated Sugar
Horseradish Sauce
Tabasco Sauce
Celery Salt
1 Large Lemon, Zest & Juice

Method

In a cold, wide bottomed saucepan, add the Olive Oil, Celery, Onion, Garlic & Basil Stalks and sweat on a medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add the Sugar & Vinegar and allow to reduce down to a syrup consistency

Add the Tomato Passata, 1 tbsp Horseradish Sauce, a good splash of Hendersons Relish, a few dashes of Tabasco Sauce, a big pinch of Celery Salt 

Stir well and allow to come to the boil - then turn the heat down and simmer for 20 mins, stirring regularly. Allow to cool so that it is just warm.

Add the basil leaves & lemon and blend either using a liquidiser or stick-blender until smooth

Check the seasoning, adding more Celery Salt/Tabasco/Hendersons/Horseradish to taste! See our tips from last week...
For a smooth Coulis, pass through a fine sieve

WIll keep refrigerated for a week in an airtight container, but we would recommend freezing in an ice cube tray for your own convenience!

How to make your Mowbray Bloody Mary! 

1 Measure Ketel One Vodka, chilled if possible
1 Measure Tomato Coulis, chilled
2 Measures Tomato Juice, chilled
Tabasco
Hendersons
Celery Salt 
Lemon
1 Celery Stick

Pour the Vodka, Tomato Coulis & Tomato Juice over ice, adding Tabasco, Hendersons & Celery Salt to Taste 

Stir well and finish with a Lemon wedge and a stick of Celery 

Mowbray-made Granola

This is a naughty but very nice recipe for a crunchy, indulgent ‘weekend’ granola - if you can keep track of when the weekend is! The key is to toast the ingredients, and dry everything out so that it stays crispy! We serve A LOT of Mowbray-made Granola at both The Chimney House and The Mowbray for our Breakfast Meetings and as an excellent start to an all day meeting. 

200g porridge oats
200g jumbo rolled oats
50g melted butter
25g caster sugar
Pinch salt

Preheat your oven to 170C. Mix the above ingredients together, spread out on a lined tray and toast for 8-10 minutes. This stage will make your granola extra crisp! You don’t want any colour at this stage, just to dry out the oats. Allow to cool. Turn the oven down to 160C

Meanwhile, in a saucepan melt the following ingredients:

50g butter
75g soft light brown sugar
30g honey
60g maple syrup
Zest of 1 small orange, plus strained juice

Method

Allow to cool, and mix with the toasted oats and 40g desiccated coconut and 180g of mixed nuts/seeds (we use a mix of chopped pecans/walnuts, pumpkin seeds & flaked almonds)
Return the lined tray, making sure it is evenly spread (no more than 1cm thick), you may need to do 2 batches! Bake for 10-15 minutes, carefully stirring with a spoon if it is not baking evenly. It should be golden brown all the way through, test some by spooning on to a cold plate, it should crisp up when cool.
When baked, break up any large lumps and allow to cool. Your granola is ready to eat! You can add 150g of dried fruits at this stage, our favourites are dried cranberries, jumbo golden raisins and apricots. You could add dried pineapple & papaya, with coconut flakes for a tropical version! Store in an airtight container and it will last for a few weeks.

Poaching Eggs

We don't think you can go far wrong with excellent poached eggs... We serve these up for Brunch Clubs and at our super popular Yoga Brunches... We never serve 1 egg... Always 2... 

The most important thing is fresh eggs.

Nothing is more key to great poached eggs than having good quality, fresh eggs as they will hold their shape in the water.
Crack your eggs. Carefully crack your eggs into separate ramekins if you have them.

Carefully remove any shell with an intact piece of egg shell, taking care not to poke the eggs.

Use a fairly deep saucepan, and wide if you are doing more than 4.

If you have a non-stick saucepan use that. Almost fill the pan, about ¾ full with boiling water and add a splash of vinegar. Carefully taste the water, it should just taste mildly vinegary. Bring the water to a boil, and reduce so that the water is bubbling upwards, but not rolling.

Carefully tip your eggs in, in fairly quick succession, placed around the edge of the pan. The bubbles should lift and move the eggs. Turn the heat up slightly if the water stops moving.

Monitor the water. If it boils vigorously it might break your eggs up. You just want a gentle simmer. If the water isn’t moving at all, your eggs might settle and stick on the bottom. For a medium egg, with a runny yolk, poach for 2-3 minutes. Carefully feel the egg white, at its thickest point to check done-ness. 

Carefully remove from the water with a perforated spoon, onto kitchen roll to drain liquid. Season with salt & cracked black pepper. If you like you can trim off any stringy bits of white for picture-perfect poached eggs.

Potato Cakes

Old school potato cakes. Easy to make and so so delicious. If you’re sourdough experiments have failed, or you prefer an easy life - try these! The quantities are approximate as you need to feel the consistency of the dough to know if it’s right. Using jackets creates dry mash which is ideal for this recipe.

2 large cooked jacket potatoes, still hot from the oven. If you need potato cakes quicker, you can peel and boil diced potato - just make sure they are well drained!
60-100g plain flour (you’ll need more if you boiled your potatoes)
30g butter, melted
1 medium egg, beaten
Salt & pepper
Light olive oil/sunflower oil
More butter!
A pastry brush

Method

Mash the potatoes, and stir in the butter. Add a decent amount of salt and pepper. Add about half the flour, and mix in. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. You can use a stand mixer, just take care not to over-beat it.

Add flour gradually, whilst kneading it. You want a dough with slight springiness, but not rubbery! Similar to scone mix. Try a little of the dough - it’s important that it is well seasoned!

Gently press or roll the dough on a floured surface so that it is ½ inch thick. Cut out discs using a 3inch cutter, and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Smush together leftover dough to make more cakes! About 8 in total.

Preheat your oven to 170C. Heat up a non-stick frying pan over a moderate heat. Drizzle the pan with oil, depending on the size of your saucepan, cook 3 or 4 at a time, taking care not to over-crowd the pan. The cakes should sizzle then cook gently, so turn the heat down slightly. 

Keep an eye on the cakes bottoms - they should be golden brown before you flip them over and cook the other side. The best way to check they are cooked, if you are unsure, is to break one open.

Finish them off with a spoonful of butter. Let it foam and brown slightly whilst brushing the top. Transfer onto a lined baking tray - or straight on your plate! If using your pan again, wipe out any burnt butter etc using kitchen roll.

You can pop them in the oven for 5 minutes if you need to finish cook, or keep them warm. Take care not to dry them out though!

Enjoy! X