Dill & poppy seed soda bread

Make this bread the day before you want to eat it.

preparation time 5 mins
Cooking time 30 mins

Ingredients

400ml milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
350g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
140g wholemeal flour
50g butter , straight from the fridge
1 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
handful dill leaves
2 tbsp poppy seeds

Method

1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 and put a flat baking sheet in the oven to heat. Mix the milk with the lemon juice in a jug to sour it. tip the flours into a large bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles fine crumbs. stir in the remaining dry ingredients and dill (saving some of the poppy seeds for the top), then make a well in the centre and pour in 350ml of the soured milk. With your hand, or a wooden spoon, draw the dry ingredients into the wet to make a very soft, quite sticky dough. Add the rest of the liquid if you need to. Be careful not to overwork the dough as this will make your loaf tough.

2. Lightly flour the work surface and tip the dough onto it. With well-floured hands, roughly shape into a round, then turn the dough over to reveal its smoother side. sprinkle a little flour over the hot baking sheet, then lift the dough onto it. Press down slightly, giving a flattened, roundish loaf about two fingertips deep.

3. Using a sharp, non-serrated knife, slash a cross deeply into the top of the dough. scatter with the rest of the poppy seeds, then bake for 25-30 mins until well risen and deep golden. give it a tap on the bottom - it should sound hollow. Cool for a few mins, then transfer to a wire rack. to serve, cut into quarters along the lines of the cross, then slice and lightly toast.

Nutrition per serving
148 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 25g, fat 4 g, saturated fat 2g, fibre 2g, salt 1.14 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2006.

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Panna cotta with apricot compote

A dairy-free panna cotta using soya milk. Perfect texture and a blend of flavours make this dish hard to fault.

Preparation time 20 mins
cooking time 20 mins

Ingredients

3 level tsp gelatine (or agar agar)
500ml soya milk (we used So Good)
zest 1 lemon
1 vanilla pod , split
splash of rum brandy
25g golden caster sugar

FOR THE COMPOTE

350g ripe apricots
50g caster sugar

Method

1. Sprinkle the gelatine onto 3 tbsp water and soak for 5 mins. Put the soya milk, zest, vanilla pod, sugar and rum into a pan. Heat until the liquid just comes to the boil, then remove from the heat and stir in the gelatine. Cool for 10 mins. Strain the milk mixture, then divide between 4 ramekins. Cover and refrigerate until set (approximately 1½ hrs).
2. Halve and stone the apricots. Put the sugar and 150ml water into a pan, then heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the apricots and cook over a gentle heat for 12-15 mins or until the apricots are soft, then leave to cool. Serve in a dish alongside the panna cotta.

Try

Make it vegan
If you are cooking for a vegetarian or vegan, substitute the gelatine for agar agar (available from health food shops). It works differently to gelatine - you don't need to cool the custard to get it to set; you just soak it, then add it to the custard just after it's made.

Nutrition per serving
146 kcalories, protein 7g, carbohydrate 36g, fat 2 g, saturated fat 0g, fibre 2g, salt 0.14 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, June 2007.
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Strawberry ice cream shake

Make yourself a naughty but nice summery treat, justified by lots of fruit!

Preparation time 10 mins

Ingredients

225g strawberries , hulled
300ml cold milk
3 large scoops vanilla ice cream
extra strawberries , to serve (optional)

Method

1. Tip the hulled strawberries into a food processor with the milk and ice cream. Blend until smooth and creamy.

2. Pour into tall glasses, top with sliced strawberries.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, August 2007.

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Milk

One of the most widely used ingredients, milk is often referred to as a complete food. While cow's milk continues to be the most popular, other milks are becoming more regularly used in cooking, drinks and cheeses.

Most of the milk we buy is pasteurized, meaning it has been heated to a temperature that removes any potentially dangerous bacteria, however unpasteurized milk is becoming increasingly popular as the general preference for untreated products continues to grow.
Babies, young children, pregnant women and the elderly are advised to avoid eating or drinking unpasteurized milk products. Find out more from The Dairy Council.

Choose the best

Whole Milk
Fresh milk from the cow, with nothing added or taken away and generally unpasteurized. Whole milk is naturally rich in a range of nutrients needed for growth, development and maintenance of the human body and has no artificial preservatives or colourings. In Britain, most whole cows' milk comes from Friesian cows, but also comes from Jersey and Guernsey cows.

Semi-skimmed and Skimmed Milk
Milk from which part or all of the fat has been removed. Semi-skimmed milk has a fat content of 1.5 to 1.8 per cent and skimmed milk has a maximum fat content of 0.1 per cent. Skimmed milk is low in calories and fat but is nutritionally almost the same.

Buttermilk
Traditionally made from the thin liquid left over after butter-making but is now more often made from skimmed milk, mixed with milk solids and cultured with lactic acid. It contains only 0.1 per cent fat. Creamy and sour in flavour, it is commonly used in baking as it gives bread and cakes a moist texture.

Soya Milk
A non-animal derived milk often used by vegans and those with dairy allergies. It has a thicker consistency than cows' milk and a distinctly nutty flavour. It is made from ground soya beans and used to make yogurt, cheese and cream. Use it as you would cows' milk.

Evaporated and Condensed Milk
Evaporated milk is homogenized milk with a reduced water content which means it is almost double the concentration of ordinary milk. It is great for making desserts and puddings. Condensed milk is evaporated milk with sugar added to sweeten and thicken it. Use it for making sweets and puddings.

Store it

Check the label when buying fresh milk and store in the fridge for 3-4 days. If not refrigerated fresh milk will go sour very quickly.

Try

• Strawberry ice cream shake
• Panna cotta with apricot compote
• Dill & poppy seed soda bread

Can't find it

Try cream.

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