Author Archives for Emily Davenport, Head of Dairy Diary

About Emily Davenport, Head of Dairy Diary

Head of Dairy Diary; I'm passionate about producing high quality products that our customers will cherish. I'm also a mum of three and I enjoy cooking, walking, gardening and painting with my family, as well as printmaking (when I find the time!)

Recipe of the Week: Chana Dahl with Roast Vegetables

Chana Dhal with Roast Vegetables

 

This is the most flavourful vegetarian dish I have ever tasted, it’s absolutely delicious, and the contrast in texture between the dahl and the roast veg makes it extra special.

Chana Dhal with Roast Vegetables

  • Servings: 6
  • Print

Calories 319 per portion
Fat 9g (1g sat) per portion
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing

For the dahl

  • For the dahl
  • Yellow split peas 300g (11oz)
  • Rapeseed oil 1 tbsp
  • Red onions 2, peeled and chopped
  • Garlic 2–4 cloves, peeled and chopped
  • Root ginger 5cm (2in) piece, finely chopped
  • Red chilli 1, deseeded and chopped
  • Fresh coriander 25g (1oz), stalks and leaves chopped separately
  • Bay leaves 2
  • Garam masala 2 tbsp
  • Ground cumin 2 tsp
  • Whole plum tomatoes 400g can
  • Vegetable stock 600ml (1 pint)
  • Limes 2, juice squeezed

For the roasted vegetables

  • Rapeseed oil 3 tbsp
  • Cauliflower 450g (1lb), broken into florets
  • Large Chantenay carrots 450g (1lb), halved lengthways or quartered if thick
  • Celeriac 300g (11oz), peeled and cut into wedges
  • Garam masala 2 tsp
  • Cumin seeds 2 tsp
  • Ground turmeric 1 tsp
  • Black mustard seeds 1 tsp
  • Curly kale 110g (4oz), large stalks removed and chopped
  • Naan breads 6, warmed, to serve

Instructions

  1. Soak the split peas overnight in cold water, then rinse and drain.
  2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, chilli, chopped coriander stalks, bay leaves and spices and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the tomatoes, the stock and the peas. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 1½–2 hours until the peas have softened.
  3. For the roasted vegetables, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°fan/Gas 4. Heat the oil in a large roasting tin for 5 minutes. Coat the cauliflower, carrots and celeriac in the oil and roast for 30 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle in the spices and stir well. Add the kale and roast for a further 15–20 minutes until the kale is crisp and the carrots and cauliflower just tender.
  5. When ready to serve, add the lime juice and half the coriander leaves to the dhal. Serve with the roast vegetables and naan bread and garnish with the remaining coriander.

Cook’s tip
If you prefer, cook the dhal in the oven at 150°C/130°fan/Gas 2 for 2 hours.

#tripletested

Behind the Scenes at our London Photo Shoot

Cookbook photoshoot

Last week I travelled down to London for the first of our cookbook shoots.

Our photographer, Steve Lee, has been shooting Dairy Diary images for over 15 years and is a master of his craft.

As well as working with us he has also photographed with many top chefs and food writers, including Michelle Roux, Antonio Carluccio and Phil Vickery.

We also work with acclaimed food writer Sara Lewis, who effortlessly makes each recipe look so delicious. Completing our small (but perfectly formed!) team is Olivia Wardle who sources all the gorgeous props and lovely Douglas Lee, who assists with everything from setting up the lighting to making the coffee.

Everyone works really hard behind the scenes to make the books look so fantastic.

Nothing is ‘staged’ or cheated; the food
is created exactly as per the recipe, then
photographed as quickly as possible
while it’s still fresh.

We shot some absolutely stunning images, which I can’t wait to share with you, but we have to wait for those, so instead I’m going to share my favourite recipe from our previous shoot.

Look out for this in our BRAND NEW COOKBOOK, coming very soon.

 

 

Chana Dhal with Roast Vegetables

Chana Dhal with Roast Vegetables

  • Servings: 6
  • Print

Calories 319 per portion
Fat 9g (1g sat) per portion
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing

For the dahl

  • For the dahl
  • Yellow split peas 300g (11oz)
  • Rapeseed oil 1 tbsp
  • Red onions 2, peeled and chopped
  • Garlic 2–4 cloves, peeled and chopped
  • Root ginger 5cm (2in) piece, finely chopped
  • Red chilli 1, deseeded and chopped
  • Fresh coriander 25g (1oz), stalks and leaves chopped separately
  • Bay leaves 2
  • Garam masala 2 tbsp
  • Ground cumin 2 tsp
  • Whole plum tomatoes 400g can
  • Vegetable stock 600ml (1 pint)
  • Limes 2, juice squeezed

For the roasted vegetables

  • Rapeseed oil 3 tbsp
  • Cauliflower 450g (1lb), broken into florets
  • Large Chantenay carrots 450g (1lb), halved lengthways or quartered if thick
  • Celeriac 300g (11oz), peeled and cut into wedges
  • Garam masala 2 tsp
  • Cumin seeds 2 tsp
  • Ground turmeric 1 tsp
  • Black mustard seeds 1 tsp
  • Curly kale 110g (4oz), large stalks removed and chopped
  • Naan breads 6, warmed, to serve

Instructions

  1. Soak the split peas overnight in cold water, then rinse and drain.
  2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onions and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, ginger, chilli, chopped coriander stalks, bay leaves and spices and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the tomatoes, the stock and the peas. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 1½–2 hours until the peas have softened.
  3. For the roasted vegetables, preheat the oven to 180°C/160°fan/Gas 4. Heat the oil in a large roasting tin for 5 minutes. Coat the cauliflower, carrots and celeriac in the oil and roast for 30 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle in the spices and stir well. Add the kale and roast for a further 15–20 minutes until the kale is crisp and the carrots and cauliflower just tender.
  5. When ready to serve, add the lime juice and half the coriander leaves to the dhal. Serve with the roast vegetables and naan bread and garnish with the remaining coriander.

Cook’s tip
If you prefer, cook the dhal in the oven at 150°C/130°fan/Gas 2 for 2 hours.

#tripletested

Competition: Win a gorgeous Cath Kidston handbag

Win a Cath Kinston Handbag

WIN a fabulous Cath Kidston handbag

Enter our competition and you could win this gorgeous Cath Kidston handbag, which has plenty of space for all those essentials (and your Dairy Diary of course!) Three internal compartments, a front slip pocket and a zip closure keep everything in place, while grab handles make it easy to carry.

An eye-catching mid blue is always
a popular choice for our bags, and
Windflower soft teal fits the bill perfectly.

The name anemone comes from the Greek word for wind, which gives anemones their other name: windflowers. This pretty name was the perfect match for the equally pretty posies that make up this floral bunch design. Including anemones and pretty hedgerow blooms gives Windflower Bunch a twist on classic bouquet florals, as does the playful use of colour.

Click here to be in with a chance of winning.

Good luck!

ENTER

 

#tripletested

#CathKidston

#Win

 

 

School Sports Day Essentials

School Sports Day Essentials

Many of us parents and grandparents will soon be dashing off to see our beloved offspring attempting to race (with varying degrees of success!) in their school sports day.

None of my children have any competitive spirit whatsoever, so it’s a little like watching a comedy. Last year one of my twins even returned to help collect others’ beanbags before she decided to amble across the finish line!

It’s an enjoyable but lengthy afternoon
(often/hopefully in the sun), so it’s important
to take plenty of water to drink.

Many schools put on a bake sale as a fundraising initiative, so you may also want to take along something homemade. Avoid chocolatey cakes as they will melt in the heat. And don’t take anything containing nuts, which are often not permissible in school because of allergies. Perhaps opt for something moist, which will survive the afternoon.

One of my favourites is this bread pudding from the Dairy Diary Favourites cookbook.

AUNTIE LOU’S BREAD & BUTTER PUDDING 

Auntie Lou Breadpudding

Recipe of the Week: Garlic Mushroom Tagliatelle

Garlic Mushroom Tagliatelle

For a really speedy but delicious dinner try this creamy pasta dish.

Garlic Mushroom Tagliatelle

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Calories 706 per portion
Fat 47g (26g sat) per portion
Suitable for vegetarians

Ingredients

  • Dried tagliatelle 300g (11oz)
  • Olive oil 2 tbsp
  • Red onion 1, peeled and chopped
  • Garlic 2 cloves, peeled and finely chopped
  • Portabella mushrooms 250g (9oz), wiped and sliced
  • Oyster mushrooms 110g (4oz), wiped and sliced
  • Baby mushrooms 150g (5oz), wiped and halved
  • Double cream 300ml pot
  • Chopped parsley and grated cheese to serve, optional

Instructions

  1. Cook tagliatelle according to packet’s instructions.
  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan and cook onion and garlic gently for 5 minutes or until just soft.
  3. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add cream and bring to the boil. Simmer for 2-5 minutes until slightly thickened. Season to taste.
  4. Drain tagliatelle and toss with mushroom and cream mixture. Divide between warm pasta bowls and scatter with chopped fresh parsley and grated cheese, if using.

 

#recipeoftheweek

#tripletested

How to make Embroidery Biscuits

How to make embroidery biscuits

Embroidery Biscuits

These exquisite biscuits, iced with pastel-coloured sugarpaste and decorated with delicate royal icing ‘embroidery’, will be the stars of any tea party.

They wouldn’t look out-of-place in an upmarket patisserie window and they are surprisingly simple to make.

Ingredients

  • For vanilla biscuits
  • Unsalted butter 175g (6oz), softened
  • Caster sugar 200g (7oz)
  • Eggs 2, at room temperature
  • Vanilla extract 1 tsp
  • Plain flour 400g (14oz)
  • Salt ½ tsp
  • For royal icing
  • Icing sugar 250g (9oz)
  • Egg white 1 large
  • Lemon juice ¼ tsp

To decorate

  • Sugarpaste in different pastel colours (about 15g/½oz for each biscuit)
  • Apricot jam warmed
  • Sugar pearls and tiny sugarpaste roses optional

BISCUITS

  1. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy. Then gradually beat in eggs followed by vanilla extract.
  2. Sift in flour and salt and stir until evenly mixed. Bring the mixture together with your hands to make a soft dough, then flatten it into a disc and wrap in cling film. Chill for at least 1 hour until firm.
  3. Preheat oven to 180˚C/160˚fan/Gas 4 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm (¼in) thick and stamp out rounds using a 6.5cm (2½in) plain cutter, gathering up and re-rolling trimmings to make about 30 biscuits in total. Place onto baking sheets, leaving a little space between each, so they have room to spread.
  4. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until their edges are just turning gold – don’t worry if the biscuits are still soft in the middle, they will firm up as they cool. Transfer to a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before decorating.

ROYAL ICING

  1. Sieve icing sugar into a bowl, add egg white and whisk, using an electric mixer on a slow speed, for about 5 minutes until icing is standing in stiff peaks. Stir in lemon juice.
  2. To prevent a crust from forming, press a sheet of cling film over the surface and cover the bowl with a damp cloth.

EMBROIDERY BISCUITS

COVERING WITH SUGARPASTE

  1. Working with one colour at a time, knead paste until smooth; on a non-stick surface using a non-stick rolling pin, roll out to 3mm (less than ¼in) thick.
  2. Stamp out rounds of sugarpaste using the same cutter as for the biscuits. Brush a thin layer of jam onto each biscuit and place sugarpaste on top. Gently rub the top and edges to smooth out any marks.
  3. Lightly press a large flower cutter into the paste to emboss it with the outline. Press a smaller flower cutter in the centre. Set aside for about 1 hour at room temperature to firm up.

BRUSH EMBROIDERY

  1. Spoon royal icing into a piping bag fitted with a small round nozzle; then pipe a squiggly line of icing over the imprint of the large flower. Pipe a small section at a time to avoid the icing starting to dry.
  2. Using a dampened, fine paintbrush, drag icing towards the centre in short strokes to achieve a feathered effect. Clean the paintbrush frequently.
  3. Once the larger flower is complete, repeat for the inner section. Set aside for at least 2 hours to allow the icing to dry. Then, with a dab of royal icing, attach a small sugarpaste rose in the centre. Use a dry brush to remove any icing that oozes out from under the rose.

EXTRA GLAMOUR

  1. As well as roses, add sugar pearls for a more elaborate design; or use sugar pearls on their own if you like.
  2. If sugarpaste doesn’t entirely cover a biscuit, ice a border.

EXPERT TIPS

  • If biscuit dough is difficult to roll out, roll it between two sheets of cling film or baking parchment.
  • Unless the dough is really sticky, it’s best not to knead in more flour as this will make it dry, and your baked biscuits will be tough and chewy rather than crisp.

A Dairy Diary recipe.

 

#baking

#biscuits

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