I can’t quite believe publication day for Scandilicious Baking is finally here, am still pinching myself that the second book was commissioned and that I’ve had the good fortune to work with such a brilliant publisher at Saltyard Books – many thanks to Elizabeth Hallett, Bryony Nowell, Tara Fisher, Annie Rigg, Eleni Lawrence and the whole team of ace people who made the book what it is. I can only take credit for the recipes, they all worked incredibly hard to put the book together and I hope they’ll be as proud of it as I am. I also have Dan Lepard and Lorraine Pascale to thank for so kindly endorsing Scandilicious Baking.

If you fancy a sneaky preview then recipes have already been featured in the Mail on Sunday  and are in today’s Times. There is a recipe extract in this month’s Marie Claire magazine and delicious. magazine made it their Book of the Month for August with a recipe for my blueberry and elderflower upside down cake for you to try.

I hope you enjoy baking from the book as much as I enjoyed recipe testing it and the pages of your copy are splattered with flecks of flour, sprinkles of sugar and good butter in years to come. As part of the book’s launch I have five signed copies to give away to UK readers over on the Scandilicious Facebook page so if you fancy trying your luck then click here

Thanks for tuning in, if you live in London and would like to sample real Scandinavian cooking then do book a place (or two) and EatScandi supper and brunch club

Right, enough shameless self-promotion. Thanks for tuning in!

Sig x

* Scandilicious Baking is available from Amazon, Waterstones and independent bookshops*

Scandi Summer Beauty & Food Event: Thursday 28th June 2012 6pm for 6:30pm start

Fan of The Killing? Can’t get enough of clean, beautiful Scandi design and fjord-fresh food? Come join us for an evening of Scandinavian-inspired beauty and sample some of the region’s most delicious, healthy fare whilst enjoying a fabulous make-over and a glass of champagne.

Enhance your Scandi summer beauty with International Make Up Artist of almost 20 years, Nadira V Persaud who will be using the leading brand in mineral make up, Lily Lolo for this event. Nadira is renowned for her fresh approach to natural beauty and Kell Skött Haircare are delighted to have Nadira and her team creating Scandi Summer day and evening looks for each guest, plus demonstrating the benefits and flawless effects with Lily Lolo.

Situated in an exclusive cobbled mews tucked away in leafy Notting Hill, Kell Skött’s award-winning salon are hosting this Scandi summer event in conjunction with yours truly providing Scandilicious treats such as home-cured gravadlax, crab, dill and asparagus tart, Skagen crisps and a Scandi cheesecake with strawberries amongst other dishes for guests throughout the evening.

Relax while Nadira, Kell’s friendly and highly talented team work their magic on you, and I’ll make sure you’re fed. After the event we’ll send you away with a beautiful Scandi goody bag, replete with Lily Lolo treats, a design gift from Iittala home-baked Scandi cinnamon buns, recipe cards from both my cookbooks and a few secret Scandi design delights to enjoy at home.

All for £50 this event is the perfect treat for women looking for an evening of luxury pampering and we look forward to you joining us – why not book in with a group of girlfriends or treat a loved one to this special evening as a birthday or anniversary gift, or indeed just book yourself in for some summertime Scandi pampering!

Jacqueline, Nadira & Signe 

*Places are limited* Scandi Summer Beauty & Food Event: 28th June 2012

Scandilicious Baking (Saltyard Books, photography by Tara Fischer)

*Fancy winning a signed copy of my forthcoming book Scandilicious Baking? (RRP £25)*

Book yourself in for a Scandinavian baking masterclass below and you could win a copy of the book, getting a sneak peek at Scandi baking delights before the book is officially published on July 5th. The winner will be chosen at random and spaces are limited so pip pip, be quick!

And why not come along to a bread or midsummer class while you’re at it, find out the secrets to cooking and baking the Scandinavian way at newly opened Central Street Cookery School in Clerkenwell, London.

Hope to see you at a class!

Sig x

Scandinavian Baking Masterclass (£100)  2 June 2012: 10 am for 10:30 am start

Discover the secrets of great baking with Scandilicious flair…

Scandinavian baking is among the best in the world. Deeply ingrained in our culture, it is a distinctive part of the Nordic identity, history and well-being. Welcome to a place where cakes made with real butter are celebrated rather than feared, where entire festivals are dedicated to baking and where it is believed there is nothing quite like the thrill of making one’s own bread, Christmas biscuits or cardamom buns.

This hands-on class will show you how to make perfect bread, the secrets of crisp pastry and how to make a perfect, mouthwatering cake – with recipes from my forthcoming book Scandilicious Baking (Saltyard Books) and the opportunity to really whisk, fold and cream your way to baking success!

Click on the PayPal link below to book your place:

Love your loaf – Real Bread The Scandinavian Way (£25) 6th June 2012 6pm for 6:30pm start

This class tackles an essential kitchen skill – bread. Learning to bake a loaf of bread is not only immensely satisfying but in our straitened times a valuable string to add to your culinary bow. For the price of a cookery book this class is all about getting our hands into dough and talking bread science (there won’t be an exam at the end of it though!). This is a short, sharp intensive bread baking class for bread novices.

Click on the PayPal link below to book your place:

Scandinavian Midsummer (£45)12th June 6pm for 6:30pm

Summer is a busy time for Scandi cooks, the long days yield intensely flavoured berries and there’s plenty of fish and seasonal vegetables available for a delicious midsummer feast. Learn the secrets of curing gravadlax, how to make your own pickles and give your strawberry dessert a Scandi twist with this hands-on class. There will be plenty of food for you to sample during the evening too, fear not!

Click on the PayPal link below to book your place:

** Classes will be held at the Central Street Cookery School In Clerkenwell.

** Copies of Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking…Scandilicious will be available to buy at the classes, along with a sneak preview of my forthcoming baking book Scandilicious Baking.

*** Cancellations: If for whatever reason you cannot make it and need to cancel please give us at least 48 hours’ notice otherwise we won’t be able to refund your place***

Cardamom Twist

This week started with a baking spree and ended with a baking spree. I’ve been doling out cinnamon buns and cardamom twists to spread the carb love and show how great Scandinavian baking really is. We have some of the best buns in the world (pun intended, harhar!) so I reckon it’s about time the world snapped out of its love affair with cupcakes and embraced spicy baked buns.

These cardamom twists are a riff on the more familiar cinnamon bun. They look pretty and are a doddle to make. I had some spelt flour sent from Sharpham Park  so I simply used it to great effect in this recipe. You can of course use regular wheat flour, but I find spelt really digestible and the dough is always so pillowy and beautiful that I stick with spelt for bun baking, and bread baking in general. I’ll be serving these and lots more Scandi baked treats at my Eat Scandi Brunches this spring and look forward to hearing what diners think.

Hope you give these a go, and if you do let me know how you get on

Happy baking,

Sig x

Cardamom Twists

Makes 16-20 twists

Dough

• 250ml whole milk
• 50g butter
• 500g refined spelt (or 50:50 plain: strong flour)
• 75g caster sugar
• 1½ tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp fine sea salt if using salted butter, increase to 2tsp if unsalted
• 15g fresh yeast or 7g dried yeast
• 1 medium egg, beaten

 Cardamom Butter Filling

• 75g butter, softened
• 75g caster sugar (or light brown sugar if you want a slightly caramelised flavour)
• 2 tsp finely ground cardamom

 To finish

• 1 medium egg, beaten
• Demerara sugar or large sugar crystals

Scald the milk by heating it in a small pan until it is almost boiling and then allow it to cool while you assemble the other ingredients. Scalding the milk makes the finished buns softer.

Sift flour, sugar, cardamom and salt together in to a large bowl. If using fresh yeast, cream it with a teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl and once it is liquid (after about 30 seconds), add to the dry ingredients.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, add the beaten egg and then the milk-butter mixture, which should be warm rather than hot to the touch, as otherwise you risk killing the yeast. Stir everything together until the mixture comes off the sides of the bowl and looks – for want of a better word – doughy. Place the dough in a lightly oiled plastic bag and leave overnight to cold ferment in the fridge. Be aware that the carbon dioxide gas from fermentation will expand the bag so make sure you leave plenty of space around the dough.

When you are ready to bake, remove the dough from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature or 30 minutes or so. In the meantime, cream together the butter, sugar and cardamom in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth butter.

Roll the dough in to a large rectangle approximately 30cm x 50cm. Using a spatula, spread the cardamom filling over half of the pastry lengthways, so that one side (roughly 15cm x 50cm) is smoothly covered. Fold the other half of the dough on top of the filling-covered section, pressing gently around the edges and dabbing them with a bit of water to seal in the cardamom butter filling.

Use a sharp knife to slice the dough to 16 or 20 strips (depending upon how big you want to make the buns). Pick up a strip of dough and twist the ends in opposite directions two or three times and then coil the strip in on itself, tucking the ends underneath and sealing them in place with a dab of water. Once you have twisted all the strips, place them on a lined baking sheet, cover with lightly oiled clingfilm and leave to prove in a warm place for 10-15 minutes until the dough no longer springs back when prodded gently with your little finger. Spelt flour doesn’t need much proving I find but use your judgement.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6. Glaze the twists with beaten egg and scatter sugar over them. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 15 minutes, checking after 10 minutes to see that they aren’t taking on too much colour or singeing. If you find that they are getting too dark, lower the temperature by 20°C or so until they are cooked through and sound hollow when you tap them on the base.

Allow to cool on a wire rack before eating. These freeze well, all you have to do is wrap in aluminium foil and keep for a rainy day. Reheat in a 150 C oven…

Gravlaks On Peter's Yard Crispbread (photo courtesy of Debi Treloar)

With spring just around the corner I’ll be starting a series of Scandinavian Smörgåsbords in London, thanks to the fabulous @chuchibum who has kindly lent me her place for each event. There will be two brunches and two suppers starting in mid-March. The idea is I’ll be cooking from my book Secrets Of Scandinavian Cooking…Scandilicious sourcing food from the best suppliers and each event will feature a selection of my favourite Scandi dishes. To tempt you along, I’ve included the draft menus here, with one or two minor tweaks yet to come.

You can book your place here and as places are limited to 20 for each event, early booking is recommended. Hope to meet you at a Scandi Supper or Brunch this spring!

Sig x

Brunch Menu (Saturday 17th March/14th April/21st April/5th May 2012):

• Scandinavian Bloody Mary (Dill, Horseradish, Aquavit, Tomato Juice)
• Raspberry, Ginger & Vanilla Smoothie
• Green Goddess Juice (Cucumber, Mint, Ginger, Apple)
• Homemade Yoghurt
• Queen’s Compote (Raspberry & Blueberry)
• Rye Granola
• Norwegian Vanilla & Sour Cream Waffles
• Cinnamon Spelt Buns
• Hot Cardamom Doughnuts, Black Cherry Jam
• Baked Eggs, Abba Anchovies, Allspice
• Jarlsberg & Fennel Muffins
• Gravadlax, Beetroot, Peter’s Yard Sourdough Crispbread
• Egg, Dill, Norwegian Kaviar, Rye
• Herring, Pickled Shallots, Potatoes, Sour Cream, Dill
• Bacon & Scandi Cheese Tart
• *A dish or two from Scandilicious Baking*
• Coffee From Square Mile, Tea (supplier yet to be decided, so many good ones out there!)

Supper Menu (Saturday 24th March/28th April):

• Scandilicious Royale (Sparkling Cherry Cocktail)
• Acquavit-Cured Salmon, Homemade Pickles, Shot Of Aquavit
• Skagen Crisps (Sweet Atlantic Prawns, Lumpfish Roe, Lemon, Dill & Mayonnaise on Peter’s Yard Sourdough Crispbread)
• Bergen Seafood Chowder,  Spelt Bread (Beetroot & Ginger Soup For Vegetarians)
• Hot Smoked Trout Salad, Radishes, Mint, Lingonberry Vinegar
• Jansson’s Temptation (Potato Gratin With Abba Anchovies & Creme Fraiche)
• Norwegian Veal & Lamb Meatballs, Lingonberry Preserve
• Seasonal Roast
• Beetroot, Bacon, Kale & Pearled Spelt Salad With Womersley Foods Raspberry Vinegar
• Seasonal Vegetables from Andreas Vegetables (Chiswick)
• Selection Of Scandi Cheese
• Fruit Of The Forest & Star Anise Sorbet, Norwegian Lemon & Nutmeg Cornets (krumkaker)
• Dessert – TBC. A Sneak Peek From Scandilicious Baking…
• Petit Fours: Hazelnut Chocolate Brownies, Citrus Madeleines
• Coffee From Square Mile, Fresh Mint Tea

Ricotta Hotcakes

It’s snowing in London and it’s the first Sunday I’ve had all year to enjoy a proper Sunday brunch – Hallelujah! Sadly it’s not quite enough snow to bust out the cross-country skis from the attic which is a pity, but still, London looks and feels very fresh and wintery today.

These little ricotta hotcakes are inspired by Australian chef and food writer Bill Granger who makes a mean hotcake. The ricotta is a delicious one from Laverstoke Park Farm made with buffalo milk which Niamh Shields of Eat Like A Girl recommended and I’ve completely fallen in love with (the ricotta I mean, not Niamh. Sorry hon!)

With a high quotient of ricotta these hotcakes are a high-protein, low(ish) carb treat for Sunday morning, they’re a cinch to make and endlessly versatile. I’ve been tinkering with gluten-free recipes for a while now so decided to add this to the “free-from” portfolio, using gluten-free flour in this recipe. You can of course adapt the hotcakes to your own needs – next time I’m thinking of using rye flour for a change. Finely crushed oats would also be delicious I imagine, but use what you’ve got and what you like.

Strawberry freezer jam you ask? Well it’s a long-standing tradition in the Johansen family. We made it every summer when I was growing up and used plump, ripe strawberries grown on my grandparents’ farm on the west coast of Norway. The flavour of this simple jam is much cleaner I find than cooked strawberry jam and is more akin to strawberry compote I guess, rather than a true sticky jam. The strawberry freezer jam used for brunch today was made last summer using a glut of crimson English strawberries that came from top London grocer Andreas of Andreas Veg fame, and the jam is a welcome reminder of summer on such a Nordic winter’s day. The recipe is in my next book Scandilicious Baking so I’m afraid you’ll have to wait til it’s out to get your mitts on that one! Use any good fruit jam or compote, and I like the cool contrast of Greek yoghurt but you can of course leave that out altogether.

Here’s the recipe, hope you’ll give these a go. I’m off for a walk in the snow!

Ricotta Hotcakes (serves 2)

• 200g tub ricotta (I used Laverstoke Park’s buffalo version)
• 100ml whole milk
• 2 medium eggs, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 70g gluten-free flour (I used Dove’s Farm self-raising gluten-free flour)
• 2 tbsp clear honey or maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp oil for frying hotcakes in

You will need a pancake or crêpe pan, or a flat skillet for frying the hotcakes. Preheat the oven to 100 C.

Start by placing the ricotta in a medium bowl. Mash it up with a fork or a spatula if it’s a solid one, then add the whole milk, mash a little more, and finally add the two egg yolks (reserve the whites for whisking). Mash and swirl the mixture really well so you don’t get any chunks of ricotta bursting out of a hotcake.

Next add the vanilla, then add the flour and honey/maple syrup and finally the salt. Give it another good mash and swirl. It should look quite thick and gloopy at this stage.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Take a spoonful of this and add to the ricotta mixture to slightly loosen it. The  fold in the remainder of the egg white, carefully swirling your spoon or spatula in figure-of-eight movements so you don’t knock out all the air in the mixture. Once all the egg white is folded in, stop. It’s easy to over-do this step so be gentle.

Pop the tablespoonful of oil in your pancake pan or skillet and place this over a medium heat. The first hotcake will be a little greasy and a bit of a dud but don’t fret, they improve wit each one you fry. Depending on how large your pan is, place 2-3 dollops of hotcake mixture in once the pan is hot, with enough space so they don’t merge into each other. Fry 1-2 minutes on each side and then stack each hotcake on a plate in the oven to keep warm while you finish the rest.

Serve while warm, with fruit compote of your choice and Greek yoghurt or creme fraiche.

A hearty and happy new year to you all. I’ve started the year as I intend to carry on – having my cake and eating it. You won’t find any self-abnegation in the Johansen household and as January sees the bodacious blood orange in its seasonal prime, I stock up on them daily (sometimes twice a day) from Andreas Fruit & Vegetables – the best greengrocer in London who also delivers to my local supermarket in Bloomsbury. I eat these crimson babies drizzled with pomegranate molasses on Greek Yoghurt most mornings throughout the new year and yesterday used a squirt of blood orange in a little larder cake rustled up from a few odds and ends lurking in the fridge and cupboards.

See what you think. Obviously if you don’t have blood oranges simply use oranges, or try lemons, limes or bergamots for a citrus twist. I like Grand Marnier but you may not in which case omit the booze or substitute with what you like.

Cake and booze. What more can a girl as for? Here’s to a great year!

Cake

• 200g Self-Raising Gluten-Free Flour (I used Dove’s Farm)
• 150g Golden Caster Sugar
• 50g Ground Almonds
• 250ml Greek Yoghurt
• 125ml Mild Olive Oil or Rapeseed Oil
• 3 Medium Eggs
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 2 tbsp Grand Marnier
• 1 tsp Orange Blossom Water
• Zest of 1 Blood Orange (save the juice for the icing)
• 1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt

Icing

• 250g (or thereabouts) Icing Sugar
• Juice of 1/2 Blood Orange
• 1 tsp Grand Marnier (keep the rest for swilling later)

Method

Preheat oven to 170 C. Lightly oil a 23cm round cake tin and dust with gluten-free flour.

In a medium-large mixing bowl place the flouyr, sugar and almonds. Stir a little so you don’t end up with one almondy end of the cake and a sugary end. Make a well in the middle and pop all the remaining cake ingredients in. Using n electric hand blender or your standing mixer, blitz all the ingredients for 1 minutes until you a have a smooth, thick batter.

Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack before making the icing. Place the icing sugar in a bowl and stir in the blood orange juice along with a smidge of Grand Marnier using a fork or small whisk. If you’re lucky you will have a deep crimson orange that will give you pink icing. If not the flavour will still be excellent and your boyfriend will look slightly less embarrassed eating it.

Ice the cake by drizzling the icing over. If it’s quite runny then just add a little more icing sugar or ice in stages. It will set in a cool room quite quickly so you can layer icing over it until you have the consistency you like. The cake will keep for a few days in an airtight tin or container.

Eat.

Er, well it would help if we had a winter to speak of in Britain rather than squalling winds we’re experiencing this week!

Having spent fifteen years growing up in Norway the whole notion of winter wonderland kinda means six long months of flumping, yes flumping around in layers of grey thermals, cute but itchy wool socks, wool hats to wreak havoc with your hair, traditional Marius jumpers knitted by your nan forty years ago (think Sara Lund’s fetching woolen ones in The Killing), not to mention giant snow boots and a layer of god-awful Gore-Tex to shield you from arctic winds. That’s the reality of winter in Nordic countries folks.

Forget sexy snow bunny, think giant, waddling yeti from October til March. Kids look adorable in all those woolen layers, adults less so. It’s a wonder the birth rate in Nordic countries doesn’t plummet between June and March each year, all that itchy wool is the most ingenious prophylactic to getting frisky.

Anyway. Last December I returned to Norway on a press trip and -18 degrees celsius weather. The cold was so discombobulating my cheeks froze and for a few minutes I wondered what the hell I was doing back on terra norvegia. Reader, the cold and I do not get along. Much as this girl loves the aestethics of snow and skiing, I would much rather bask in the sea and soak up the sun than flump around in minus anything degrees. Plus, feeling like an itchy, heavy-footed yeti doesn’t exactly make one want to leap with joy. Your cheeks may look rosy but you just feel BIG.

Shows what 11 years of living in a temperate climate does to you. And this wasn’t even as cold as it can get in central Norway – as a kid I had heard this little town in central Norway called Røros was famous for holding the record of coldest ever temperature south of Finnmark, a refreshing – 50.4 degrees celsius.

That’s MINUS 50.4 degrees. Unfathomable really. What compels polar explorers to spend months in such temperatures is completely beyond me. Norwegians get very excited about the cold. Perhaps that’s what keeps the birth rate up

So back to Røros. A town in central Norway that gets rather chilly in winter but also known for its picturesque wooden buildings and now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Røros is echt winter wonderland, replete with markets and festive cheer in the run-up to jul (as we say in ‘Weegie). And plenty of delicious, warming gløgg.

Back in Norway for the first time in a year and against my better, grumpy nature I was actually excited to see proper winter, and lots of appropriately clad winter folk (having left the cold spell in London where people seem to think wearing ghastly Uggs in snow is sensible). Also the country doesn’t grind to a halt when it snows, and after the press started reporting on potential food shortages across the UK I was reassured to find Norwegians still knew how to boss winter into submission.

It was an invigorating trip. Plenty of cold, dry air which strangely doesn’t feel as cold as the damp air back in Britain, adrenaline-pumping outdoor activities and great food. Local reindeer served with chanterelles and mandelpoteter (almond potatoes) at Vertshuset Røros was a particular highlight for me. It’s hard to find reindeer meat back in the UK and I miss this delicate, tender game meat. Vertshuset itself is old-school Norwegian with its bold red exterior and warm, cosy wooden interior. I’d love to go back and stay there for a few days. Next year!

We also met local producers – the region has a growing Slow Food movement which is encouraging, and Røros itself offers much more than the usual schmaltzy tourist experience with its quaint Christmas market, jolly, friendly locals and lots of hand-knitted wool items made from Røros wool – some of the finest in the country.

Feeling a bit nostalgic for Norwegian winters and rather pathetically drowning in work at the moment I thought I’d share some of the photos from our trip. Obviously I’m biased but I couldn’t recommend a visit to Røros more highly and would definitely return, if only for a reprise of the dog-sledding at Alaskan Husky Tours – the most fun I’ve had outdoors in years. If you don’t believe me, watch Tim Hayward’s report on our dog-sledding expedition. That’s what winter is about.

Hope you like the snapshots of festive Røros and its Winter Wonderland folks, and normal service will resume later this week with a round-up of 2011 cookbooks and a few Scandi Christmas baking recipes too. Better too late than never…

Traditional Røros building

The typography geek in me *loves* this sign

A typical Scandinavian Spark sled, beats BoJo bikes any day

How to use up all that ice...

Pretty wreaths

Slippers made from local Røros wool (photo courtesy of Hanne Knudsen)

A Norwegian Nisse! (cute but capricious little elf)

We love our nisse

Norwegian yule decorations

Couldn't resist snapping this pic could I?

Alaskan Husky Tours HQ

If my fingers weren't so frozen I would have been tempted to take one of these home...

Husky hiding from the cold

Raring to go!

Not really the recommended dog-sledding technique...

...and that grizzly Tim Hayward shows how it's done

Sami lavvu tent

Inside the lavvu

Røros at night

Dogsledding at Alaskan Husky Tours:

www.huskytour.net

Run by Ketil Reitan, world leading expert in dogsledding

Cost per person from NOK 890

Stilton, Squash, Walnut & Sage Muffins

Ahh autumn. London’s trees, with their unusually rich hues of gold, burnished orange and moody auburn bear more of a passing resemblance to New England this year than any I can remember. Seeing Regent’s Park earlier in the week the romantic softie in me felt suddenly overcome by all the pretty colours on the trees. And no, my morning cuppa tea had not been spiked thankyouverymuch.

As a kid I really dreaded autumn, for all the predictable reasons you do when growing up. End of careless summers spent in the States – New England as it happens – back to boring school, the long Norwegian winter ahead, clocks going back, nothing to look forward to til, well, the following June when school finished. Bleak really.

Being a feckless, temperamental sort I haven’t quite overcome that sense of overwhelming doom when the leaves start turning. But I do have a newfound appreciation of the good things autumn brings us. Which might explain the unexpected swoon at seeing all those colours in the park the other day. Or perhaps I just need to take a vitamin supplement.

But enough musing and on to the recipe. These little beauties are really autumn in a muffin – strong, robust cheese such as stilton and pungent, heady sage mixed with perky butternut squash and crunchy, mellow walnuts. I do a variation on this theme now every autumn – last year it was with pumpkin and cheddar, this year stilton and squash. In our straitened times these savoury muffins make a delicious addition to any lunchbox, or as a sidekick to soups, salads and midweek suppers.

Do give them a try, I reckon bonfire night would be greatly improved with some cheese-y muffins and a glass of hot buttered rum.

Autumn in a muffin

Perfect accompaniment to a bowl of soup, with a crunchy salad or as an afternoon snack

Stilton, Squash, Walnut & Sage Savoury Muffins Recipe:

Makes 12 pretty muffins

Ingredients:

• 150g refined spelt flour
• 100g wholemeal spelt flour
• 50g oat bran
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 whole nutmeg, finely grated
• 8 sprigs of sage, roughly torn, plus 4 whole ones for scattering on a few muffins
• 100ml plain yoghurt
• 50g melted butter
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 generous squirt of mild honey
• 1 tsp English mustard
• 250g butternut squash, roughly grated
• 100g stilton cheese, broken into 1cm chunks
• handful of walnut pieces
• extra cheese of your choice for sprinkling on top of the muffins

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190 C. You will need a 12x medium-sized muffin tin. Line the muffin tin with squares of parchment paper or paper muffin cases.

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients and stir through with a large spoon to distribute the raising agents. In a medium bowl mix the yoghurt with the melted butter. Crack the eggs into a cup and beat with a fork. Add the honey and mustard to the eggs and stir again so you distribute the honey and mustard evenly.

Make a well in the middle of the larger bowl with the dry ingredients and pour in all the liquid ingredients. Stir through about eight times using a large spoon, scooping in figure-of-eight motions so you incorporate all the ingredients. Add the butternut squash, stir 2-3 times and then finally add the stilton and the walnuts. Stir through a few more times so you have an even mixture.

Use a tablespoon or ice cream scoop and distribute the muffin mixture equally between the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle with extra cheese if you wish, some extra stilton or parmesan for example. Then place a few sage leaves on some of the muffins.

Bake on the upper middle shelf of the oven for 20 or so minutes, until the muffins look golden-brown and feel quite firm to the touch. Eat while warm. These savoury muffins keep well for a few days. Simply wrap in clingfilm or keep them in an airtight container. They make a fab alternative to a slice of bread with soup or with a crunchy autumn/winter salad.

Gravlaks (salmon cured with dill, spices, sea salt and sugar) on Peter's Yard sourdough crispbread

While there always seems to be a frenzied rush this time of year to come up with the most ghoulish recipe for Hallowe’en I’ve been musing on the joys of that other orange-hued foodstuff: salmon.

Nothing makes me happier than a really good piece of oily fish. Seriously. Chock-full of omega fatty acids to keep your brain sprightly, your heart ticking (not to mention your hair, skin, nails growing & glowing), salmon is the best mood-enhancer as we head into the dark days of winter. Beats prozac any day.

So in between the pumpkin-stuffing and many baking experiments this autumn I’ve been curing away in my dinky kitchen. A Var salmon was delivered recently from the kind folks at Severn Wye, and although I had in my mind expected a couple of samples of smoked fish – lo and behold the entire fish arrived:

Var Salmon from Severn Wye

Quite the bruiser, eh?

Out came the fish filleting knife and I proceeded to elegantly (well, ish) fillet the salmon and made the most delicious gravlaks out of it. That’s gravadlax to those of you more familiar with the Swedish spelling. Us ‘Weegies call it gravlaks. This quintessential Scandinavian dish of salmon cured in dill, sea salt, sugar is so popular, every time I’ve made it during cookery classes or demos over the summer it’s  been the biggest crowd-pleaser. And you can see why – gravadlax from the supermarket just doesn’t have a patch on the homemade stuff so if you’re bored of stuffing pumpkins and other lurid Hallowe’en nonsense then give this a go.

The recipe I’ve shared with you here is from my book Scandilicious: Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking (Saltyard Books) and it’s super-duper easy to make. Works a treat for lazy brunches on the weekend just spread on Peter’s Yard sourdough crispbread, or keep in the freezer for midweek suppers. And although I loathe mentioning Christmas so early, if you are entertaining a large group of people then this might prove a lot more economical than buying in your dill-cured fish. Did I mention it tastes delicious too?

Gravlaks on Peter's Yard crispbread

What’s your take on curing fish? Do you like gravlaks/gravadlax? There are myriad ways of making it, adding some booze to the cure is always a winner – a snifter of whisky, brandy or gin will give your salmon a little extra depth of flavour. And of course you can vary the spices. Keep the salt/sugar ratio as specified here though, too much salt and that’s all you end up tasting. The sugar calibrates the flavour so you get the best of the dill, spices and the salted salmon.

From Scandilicious: Secrets of Scandinavian Cooking (a bargainous £10 on Amazon right now)

Gravlaks with dill mustard sauce*

 (* Ahem. I actually prefer this naked, or with a little freshly grated horseradish on top and some pickled beetroot)

The key to this classic Scandinavian dish is an exceptionally fresh fillet of salmon. If in doubt, freeze the fillet for 24 hours to kill any bacteria, then defrost it. This traditional gravlaks cure is slightly more sweet than salty, but you can always use equal quantities of sugar and salt if you prefer. If you’re feeling adventurous, try adding beetroot, alcohol (aquavit, gin or vodka) or juniper berries to the cure.

 Makes enough for 12-14 starters or 6-8 smörgåsbord brunchers

• 1½kg salmon fillet, cut in half

• 1 tbsp white peppercorns

• 2 tbsp coriander seeds

• 100g granulated sugar

• 75g sea salt

• 3 x 15g pack dill, chopped (for the cure)

• 1 x 15g pack dill, chopped (to serve)

Dill mustard sauce

• 1 x 15g pack dill

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

• 3 tbsp white wine or cider vinegar

• 3 tbsp demerara sugar

• 3 tbsp mustard

• ½ tsp salt

Method:

Dry the salmon, check for pinbones and then place both fillet pieces side by side, skin down. Crush the white pepper and coriander with a pestle and mortar and then mix in a small bowl with the sugar and salt. Spread the dill over the skinless side of the fillet halves, then spread the spiced sugar and salt in a layer on top. Sandwich both fillets together so that the the dill spice mixture is in the middle and the skin is outermost. Cover any exposed surface of salmon with any dill and spice mixture that tumbles out. Wrap very tightly in two layers of clingfilm and place in a small roasting tin to catch the brine that escapes the fish as it cures. Refrigerate for a minimum of 24 hours and up to 48 hours.

The dill mustard sauce is very easy to make. You just whizz up all the ingredients in a blender. You can then either use it straight away or keep it in an airtight glass jar in the fridge for a week or so.

When the gravlaks has had time to cure, simply take it out of the fridge, remove the clingfilm, wipe the fillet halves clean of the herby spiced salt with a paper towel, pat dry and put on a board, skin down. Put a layer of chopped dill on the skinless side of each fillet and press down as much as you can without squashing the fish. Slice on the diagonal from the tail towards the middle of the fillet and serve with hot new potatoes, rye or sourdough bread and dill mustard sauce.