Caxton magazines staff“I don’t want to think that someone has been fiddling with the food on my plate for three hours,” says Inge Watrobski of Kassia & Figg (021 788 3337), a bakery and coffee shop. Instead she believes cooking should be informal and fun. Here are her recipes for a scrumptious brunch
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups flour
- 8T baking powder (level)
- 1t mustard powder
- Maldon sea salt
- fresh black pepper
- 100g butter
- 1½ cups of grated cheddar
- a small handful of chopped fresh herbs such as chives, basil or lemon thyme
- 2½ cups of milk
- 1 small tub basil pesto
- 6–12 cherry or mini plum tomatoes, halved
- ripe brie, prosciutto and balsamic dressing, to serve
METHOD
1. Sieve the flour and add the baking powder, mustard powder, a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Add the butter and blend with your fingertips until crumbly.
2. Mix the grated cheddar and the chopped fresh herbs into the milk, and add this to the dry ingredients. You should have a fairly stiff mix, but make sure there are no dry pockets.
3. Butter and flour your muffin tins. Mound the mixture into the tins, then using a spoon or your finger, make a hollow deep into the centre of each muffin. Spoon a dollop of basil pesto into each and top with a halved tomato. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake at 200ºC for 20–25 minutes till the muffins are beautifully browned and when poked with a skewer, the skewer comes out clean.
4. Serve warm or cold with ripe brie and prosciutto and drizzled with a little balsamic dressing.
This recipe make 12 regular or 6 large muffins.
