Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne Cupcakes

Doesn't this look gorgeous. Ok, so its stretching the truth a little to call it a cupcake but it definitely holds lasagne and isn't it sweet? I made a big pile of them in all different flavours to serve at the cafe and another pile for visitors heading out for a loch-side picnic, next I will try them as little mini cupcakes for a party.

Lasagne is one of my all-time favourite comfort foods so a mini portable version seemed like a cute idea. In Scotland we can't be too complacent about the weather at any time of the year so planning a summer picnic becomes a hazardous activity. We made the cupcakes, then double wrapped them in foil to keep them from cooling down too quickly and sent them on their way to warm up our guests as they sat appreciating Loch Lomond on a blustery summer's day.

As well as the spinach/ricotta cupcakes there are butternut squash/goat cheese and venison/Isle of Mull cheddar cupcakes.
Oh and they freeze well so can be defrosted and heated up in a warm oven for a speedy supper, how cool is that?

Lasagne Cupcakes (spinach, ricotta and walnut)

2 tbsp olive oil                                                                                      

1 pack (170g) filo pastry sheet              

1 pack fresh lasagne sheets

Good quality tomato sauce (bought or home-made)

300g fresh spinach, cooked and with any excess liquid squeezed out

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

50g walnuts, chopped roughly

250g ricotta cheese

100g grated parmesan cheese 

Prepare a muffin or cupcake tin by spraying or brushing lightly with oil. Cut filo pastry into squares slightly bigger than you need to fit your muffin or cupcake tin. Line each cupcake tin with 2 layers of filo pastry, one on top of the other with the excess hanging over the edges.  Stir the walnuts and nutmeg through the spinach. Cut circles of lasagne to fit the cupcake tin with a cookie cutter.

 

To assemble:

In the bottom of each cupcake, place one layer of lasagne. 

Next top with a tablespoon of tomato sauce, then a spoonful of spinach. 

Finally top with a dollop of ricotta and another layer of lasagne. 

Repeat until your cupcake is full. 

Top each filled filo pastry "cake" with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. 

Bake in the oven for around 15 minutes until brown and gorgeous.

Mango Lime Coleslaw

What makes coleslaw coleslaw? I think its the cabbage because otherwise this recipe would just be a stunning little salsa. Instead, with the addition of some shredded cabbage, it transforms into a fresh take on traditional coleslaw. The dressing is lighter, healthier and zestier, the vegetables sweet and summery.

How on earth did we live before Google. I saw a recipe for mango coleslaw on Smitten Kitchen's site and wanted to try it immediately but didn't have all the ingredients so googled mango coleslaw and discovered a whole new world of fruity coleslaws that will be starring in my kitchen all summer. 

This gorgeous version is based on Smitten Kitchen's recipe with a few tweaks according to what I had in the cupboard. We ate it served on flatbreads with smoked mackerel. Gorgeous.

Mango Coleslaw
1 mango, sliced thinly
1 head chinese cabbage, chopped finely
1 red onion, thinly sliced into half moons
2 roasted red peppers sliced thinly
1 handful salted peanuts, roughly chopped 

Dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
Grated zest of 1 lime
1 hot red chilli, finely chopped
3cm of root ginger, grated

Throw all the fruit and vegetables in a large bowl and stir well.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients and pour over.
Leave an hour or two to allow the dressing flavours to mix.
Just before serving, sprinkle with the peanuts.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

I don't like big cakes. I've tried ordering slices of victoria sponge in cafes, or triple layer carrot cakes in tea shops but I simple can't get over the feeling that I am stealing a piece of someone else's cake. I like to have my own cake. I don't care if it's big or small as long as it is all mine. So after years of skirting around the issue, trying to persuade myself to eat slices of cake from dessert trollies, I have decided that from now on I will only be eating cupcakes and other individually packaged treats (obviously brownies and other tray-bakes are not included in this declaration, that would just be silly). 

So at the cafe, individual cakes are definitely the order of the day. We have already had lots of cupcake orders for children's parties (these banana cupcakes were for an 8 year old's birthday party) so my plan this summer is to expand my repertoire of cupcakes and get lots of practice at pretty decorative frosting. There are worse things that seeing the summer stretch ahead filled with piles of flavoured cupcakes: cappucinno and espresso, mojito and strawberry daquiri are just for starters.

Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

25g butter

25g cream cheese

2 tbsp cocoa powder

200g icing sugar

1 tbsp milk

Beat the butter and cream cheese with a wooden spoon until soft. 

Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa powder into the butter mixture and beat until well blended.

Add a tablespoon of milk if necessary to reach a thick spreading consistency. 

Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge until the cupcakes are cool. 

Banana Cupcakes

170g butter

170g caster sugar

170g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs, whisked together

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 medium bananas, chopped 

Preheat the oven to 180C

With an electric beater, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add a tablespoon of flour and fold in to the mixture.

Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the batter mixing well, then fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. 

Gently stir the bananas into the mixture

Line two muffin tins with 18 cases and divide the batter between them.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until the cupcakes are golden brown. 

Cool on a wire rack then top with chocolate fudge frosting and decorate with dragees, smarties or chocolate chips. 

Scotch Whisky Glazed Salmon

I've not been cooking at home properly for a few weeks now. Too much reliance on good weather and a barbecue means that now the sun has disappeared, I am left wondering what we usually live on. Cooking in the cafe all day means that evening meals mid-week need to be healthy and summery but quick and easy to give me a break from the kitchen.

Looking for a robust flavour to add some interest to a piece of unremarkable salmon, something that would stand up to the smokiness of the barbecue but not drown out the delicate flavour of the fish I was hunting around in the cupboard and came across a collection of malt whisky bottles with a shot left in each. Finally deciding on a lightly peaty Talisker whisky, I marinated it for an hour or so then griddled it on the barbecue. adding a gorgeous rich smoky depth of flavour to the fish.

This could be thrown on the barbie and cooked in minutes to serve with a salad but if you are rained off, it is just as lovely on the griddle as the whisky brings its own distinctive smokiness.

Scotch Whisky Glazed Salmon
4x150g (6oz) salmon fillets
2tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp Scotch whisky (I used Talisker but any good flavoured whisky would do)
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp orange juice
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Mix together the whisky, honey, soy sauce, orange juice and garlic in a ziplock bag.
Add the salmon fillets and marinate for 1 hour 
Heat the olive oil in a griddle pan or heavy frying pan.
Place the salmon fillets in the pan skin-side down and baste with the marinade.
Fry for 2-3 minutes then turn and fry the other side for a minute or two until the fish is opaque.
Remove the fish to a plate, drizzle with the juices from the pan.
Serve with green salad.

Broccoli Soup with Blue Cheese Croutons

It has been such a beautiful week that I have laid aside all thoughts of cold weather soups and instead have become obsessed with salad platters, barbecue food and picnic parties. The Green Apple Cafe has been busy but we are approaching the new summer season and I need to plan a whole new menu. I'd love to attract tourists holidaying the in the area and families looking for a relaxed place to visit during the summer holidays as well as keeping all our regulars coming to the cafe during the summer break.

We are open thursdays and fridays all through the summer holidays and seasonal salads, tapas-style plates and freshly made paninis and sandwiches will be on the menu along with frappés, milkshakes and smoothies. All this warm weather food means I am experimenting like mad at home trying to come up with new salads, soups and fresh flavours for summer. Blue cheese and broccoli are a magical combination, the blue cheese transforming the soup from a light and frugal meal into a rich and complex supper dish.

If the weather stays as beautiful, come and enjoy the gardens and playpark. If the skies open, just come along and enjoy the food! 

Broccoli Soup with Blue Cheese Croutons

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500ml vegetable stock
350g broccoli, chopped roughly
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped into small cubes
Salt, pepper and fresh nutmeg
4 thin slices of baguette or other crusty bread
2 tbsp olive oil
100g blue cheese


Preheat the oven to 160C.
For the soup:
Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions and garlic together until soft.  
Add the stock and broccoli together along with the chopped potatoes. 
Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are tender. 
Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. 
Season to taste with salt, pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg.

For the croutons:
Brush the bread with olive oil then top with sliced or crumbled blue cheese (depending on the texture of the cheese)
Place the slices on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes until the bread is crispy and the cheese melted. 
Cut the bread into small squares. 
Serve the soup scattered with a few blue cheese croutons.

Treacle Scones

I've abandoned my blog these past few weeks. There has not been a moment to spare between getting the cafe up and running, creating menus, shopping, testing, advertising and trying to get up to speed with all the legal paperwork required. We've been catering birthday parties, business lunches, training days and somehow trying to create routines and organise the cafe into the bargin. So trying out new recipes has not been a problem, just finding the time to write them down and take photographs of them!

This month I have been experimenting with scones, cranberry and orange, vanilla rhubarb, blueberry, cheese and dill and maple syrup. Many of our customers love the traditional plain scone that has been a staple of most cafe menus for many years but most seem to be attracted to the more unusual fruit-filled versions.

In search of a toffee flavoured scone, I started to search through all my oldest cookbooks. Treacle scones are a very old-fashioned and traditional Scottish tea-time treat. All the leather bound cookbooks I've inherited have recipes, and all the wee Scottish cookbooks picked up on holidays or in charity shops feature their own versions. This is an amalgam of various very similar recipes. The treacle (molasses) can be replaced by golden syrup for a lighter version.

Treacle Scones
225g self-raising flour
55g butter
25g caster sugar
Half a teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons black treacle
Pinch of salt
Approx 115ml milk

Pre-heat the oven to 220C/Gas 7.
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl.
Rub in the butter lightly until the mixture has the texture of breadcrumbs.
Stir in the sugar, cinnamon and treacle then add just enough milk to make a soft dough.
Bring together and roll out on a floured board.
Cut into rounds with a 10cm pastry cutter.
Butter a baking tray and place the scones on this.
Brush with a little milk and bake for 12 minutes until golden and aromatic.
Cool on a wire rack and serve dripping with butter and jam.

Thai Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

The weather gods are on our side this week, West Linton must be in favour. The sun is out, the sky is blue and the cafe is buzzing.

We are working hard to get word out about the Green Apple Cafe, dropping flyers, setting up a facebook page, tweeting regularly, I hope it gets everyone in our local area to come by and visit, catch up with friends and try out our new menu. Every day we make fresh soups, salads, paninis and lots of yummy cakes.

At home, I am testing out new soup recipes to add some spice to the summer menu. If we have the predicted "barbecue summer" we will be needing some fresh and light flavours to entice people in so we are experimenting with flavours from hotter climes: India, Thailand and the Middle East. We've had curried butternut squash soup, chicken noodle soup with lemongrass and ginger and today, a gentle sweetly spiced Thai soup with creamy coconut milk and a little bit of a chilli kick.

Thanks to everyone who has come out to support us in our first few weeks, I hope you all come back again soon.

Thai Spiced Sweet Potato Soup
 
1tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
2 heaped tsp Thai red curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 litre chicken stock
1 kilo sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
Fresh Thai basil or coriander to serve

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Saute the onions and garlic gently until soft - around 5 minutes.
Stir in the curry paste and fry gently for anonther minute or two to release the flavours from the spices.
Add the coconut milk and chicken stock, bring to a simmer and stir to blend.
Put the sweet potatoes  in the pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes until they are soft.
Blend the soup to a smooth puree then season to taste with salt and lots of black pepper.
Sprinkle with basil or coriander and serve with hot naan bread.