Chilli Oil, Tomato, Mozzarella & Olive Focaccia
Few things beat a fresh batch of Focaccia. I adore the ease of this bread. Its minimal effort, maximum reward. Instead of using olive oil in this recipe to dimple and prove the dough, I’ve gone for a punchy chilli oil. Accompanied by fresh cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, thinly sliced red onion and green olives; this is my ultimate snack.
Brazil - Pão de Queijo
These evoke strong memories from my days working in a 5 star hotel. On long shifts where we all needed a pick me up; one of the Brazilian chefs, Tony, would make these for us. They really perked us up and meant we all got to stop for 5 minutes to eat together. This is a really easy recipe and the tapioca flour is a must! It’s responsible for these Pão de Queijo’s iconic texture.
Cyprus - Flaouna
A typical easter bake from Cyrpus, Flaouna is a delicious cheese pastry filled with mint, raisins and herbs. The dough is coated in white sesame seeds before adding in the filling which gives these a delicious nutty flavour. If you can, get your hands on the traditional spices (I’ve included some substitutions in case you can’t.)
Lemon Cream Cheese, Harissa and Honey Crumpets
The perfect homemade weekend breakfast. Light, fluffy and full of flavour; you’ve never had crumpets like this.
Hungary - Pogácsa
These Pogácsa are the flakier, yeasted version of an English cheese scone/American biscuit. By using cold grated butter and laminating three additions of cheese, you get intense cheese flavour with lovely flaky pastry.
Ireland - Soda Bread
For those of you who have never encountered Soda Bread, it is a hearty dense 'quick bread' made without yeast. Instead, it uses Bicarbonate of Soda as a raising agent. It has quite a dense texture but is great if you want something fresh and quick.