Put a fun twist on your delicious homemade rye bread with some organic beetroot juice and cacao nibs. The sweetness of the beetroot not only adds depth and earthy flavour to your bread, but also balances perfectly the bitterness of cacao nibs.
It’s a slightly dense bread due to the use of rye and bread flour, but it is very satisfying and goes well with soup, salad or as a substantial and healthy breakfast with some sliced avocados. Score the bread any way you like, a simple cross is great or hashtag like I did. If you are interested, here is an article about bread scoring patterns I found on Bon Appetit.

260 ml Organic beetroot juice 250 g Bread flour 150 g Rye flour 3/4 tsp Smoked salt 10 g Fresh yeast, crumbled 2 tbsp Cacao nibs

1. Warm up the beetroot juice in a saucepan until lukewarm. Place bread flour, rye flour and smoked salt in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Crumble the fresh yeast into the lukewarm beet juice. Set aside for 10 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.
2. Add beet juice yeast mixture into the flour mixture and mix on low speed for 5 minutes. Increase the speed and knead until elastic and smooth. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size.
3. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Using your fist, punch dough down. Add in cacao nibs. Knead to combine and shape the dough into a round.
4. Dust a proofing basket with some flour. Place the dough, seam side up, into the basket. Cover with a tea towel and set aside for 45 minutes to prove until almost doubled in size. Turn the dough out onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush or spray the surface with water. Use a small sharp knife or a bread lame to score the bread with decorative cuts.
5. Place a bowl of water on the bottom of your oven. Preheat the oven to 230C/450F.
6. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 180C/350F and bake for a further 15 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Remove from oven and set aside to cool completely before slicing.

This banana bread is moist and delicious with loads of banana flavour! Don’t overmix the ingredients or the bread won't be soft and tender, and make sure the bananas are very ripe. If your bananas aren’t very ripe, you can place them on a foil covered baking sheet in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 150C/300F until the skins turn black. It releases the sugar and makes them perfect for baking. If you don't enjoy a walnut-studded quick bread, just leave it out or use chocolate or fruit instead.

125 g White spelt flour 125 g White bread flour 1 tsp Baking soda 1/4 tsp Salt (I used Kala Namak black salt) 100 g Lard (or butter) 100 g Coconut sugar (or brown sugar) 2 Large eggs, at room-temperature 1 tsp Vanilla extract 5 Very ripe bananas, mashed 120 g Walnuts chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Lightly grease a 8-9x5 inch loaf pan or line with a parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine flours, baking soda and salt. Using electric mixer, cream lard and coconut sugar together until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir the banana mixture into flour mixture just until combined.
3. Fold in walnuts if using and pour the batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Deep fried thinly sliced pork belly with a simple black vinegar dipping sauce. The pork belly was first pressure cooked in a seasoned broth, chilled, sliced and then fried until crisp. It can be enjoyed on its own as a snack (seriously the best chips that I have ever had), or as the main with some seasonal salad or use them as the soup topping. I had to tweak the recipe that I found on Raymund's blog a bit (to add chilli, fish sauce, and black salt) based on my taste and what I have in pantry.

1-1.5 kg Pork belly, (1 big piece, do not slice) 2 tbsp Maggi liquid seasoning 1 tbsp Fish sauce 2 Garlic cloves, crushed 1 tbsp Black peppercorns 4 Bay leaves 3 Dried chillies 1/2 tsp Kala Nama black salt (or sea salt) 400 ml Water 1 kg Lard for frying

1. Place the pork belly, skin side up, in your Instant Pot together with the Maggi liquid seasoning, crushed garlic cloves, black peppercorns, bay leaves, dried chillies and kala nama black salt.
2. Pour in water and lock on the lid, making sure the steam release valve is in “Sealing” position. Cook for 25 minutes. Once all the pressure has been released, remove the pork belly and pat it dry with a paper towel. Once it's cooled to room temperature, refrigerate it for over night.
3. Remove the pork belly from the frigerator and cut into 3-4mm thin slices.
4. Heat the lard in a large saucepan until the temperature reaches 180C/350F. Lower the pork belly slices into the hot lard and fry for 15 minutes. Remove and drain on the kitchen paper. Cool for 30-60 minutes.
5. Bring the lard back to boil and refry the pork belly slices on high for 5 minutes until nicely golden brown and crisp. Serve with your favourite sauce. I like to dip them with a mixture of black vinegar, light soya sauce, minced garlic and chopped coriander leaves.

Oliebollen ((literally, "oil balls"), aka Dutch Doughnuts, are traditionally made and enjoyed as a New Years treat in Holland. But you can always make them at home whenever a craving hits! They can be made plain, but are typically filled with raisins or/and apples, then fried until golden brown and served warm dusted generously with powdered sugar. Crisp on the outside with a pillowy center that’s not too sweet. Absolutely irresistible! They taste the best when hot, but still wicked good at room-temperature. You can easily use Air Fryer or oven to reheat them. This recipe makes roughly 12-14Oliebollen, depending on how you scoop your Oliebollen.

250 g Raisins 16 g Fresh yeast (or 9 g active dry yeast) 250 ml Lukewarm milk 270 g White spelt flour (or ap flour) 1 Large egg, at room-temperature 1/3 tsp Black salt (or regular sea salt) 1 kg Lard for frying Powdered sugar for dusting

1. Soak the raisins for at least one hour in water, preferably overnight. Drain and pad dry with paper towels before use.
2. Place yeast and lukewarm milk in a bowl and stir to dissolve. Set aside for 10 minutes or until mixture bubbles.
3. Place flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture and eggs into the well and stir into a smooth batter. Add in drained raisins and stir until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for 1 hour or until dough doubles in size.
4. Melt the lard in a deep-fryer or a large saucepan over medium heat to 190C/375F. Take a small piece of bread and put it in the lard. If it starts to fry immediately, then it's ready for frying. Working in batches, use 2 metal spoons (or an ice cream scoop) to shape scoops of dough into balls, and drop them carefully into the hot oil. Deep-fry, turning halfway, for 5-7 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
5. Dust doughnuts generously with icing sugar and serve immediately. Enjoy them hot if possible. You can use Air Fryer or oven to reheat them.

Very likely that you have seen the cute roasted Hasselback potatoes before, but you can also use this technique on a many other vegetables, for example, eggplants, tomatoes, and butternut squash! Slow-roasting in paprika sauce, and the use of harissa oil, smoked paprika and honey help intensify the flavour, esp. the sweetness of butternut squash. The final result is sure to impress the guests and looks really delicious and elegant as a vegetarian centrepiece, particularly with the simple yet yummy Feta and carrot top topping. Don't you just love the colour contrast? However, if you are going to serve this to vegans, just leave out Feta and use pomegranate seeds, nuts and mint instead.

	Easy Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce
1 / 800 g Butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthways and seeds scooped out 650-800 g Roastged bell pepper sauce (or your favourite pasta sauce or simply use canned tomatoes) 2 tbsp Harissa 2-3 Garlic cloves, smashed 1 tbsp Olive oil 2 tbsp Harissa oil Rosemary and sage 1 tbsp Runny honey 1/2 tsp Smoked paprika 100 g Feta, crumbled Carrot tops (or dill or parsley), chopped	1 jar / 640 g Roasted red peppers 1 Shallot, chopped 2 Garlic cloves 1 tbsp Olive oil 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes 3/4 tsp Italian seasoning Salt and black pepper to taste

1. In a large blender or food processor, combine all ingredients for the sauce, including the liquid from the roasted peppers, and process for 20 seconds or longer if you prefer a smooth sauce. I am just fond of a slightly chunky sauce. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Put a squash half flat-side down on a chopping board between two wooden spoon handles or chopsticks. Cut down in 1/2cm intervals (the spoon handles will stop the knife going all the way through). Repeat with the other half.
3. Put the roasted bell pepper sauce, harissa, garlic and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large baking dish, season well and stir. Put the squash halves into the dish, flat-side down on top of the sauce. Slot the rosemary and sage into the gaps, drizzle with the harissa oil and season well. Cover the dish with a large sheet of foil then cook for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the foil, drizzle over the honey and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Roast for a further 30-40 minutes or until the squash is completely tender. Sprinkle over the feta and carrot top to serve.

Light and buttery with a pillowy soft interior Brioche is a rich French bread with a high amount of butter and egg content. This combination gives it a richer flavour and a rather tender, moist, almost cake-like crumb. Brioche can be made into a loaf or into individual buns (fantastic as a burger bun). The Brioche loaf is wonderful as is, but slice it up and slather it with butter or chocolate spread is even better :-)

Spinach Brioche Loaf

inspired by this

50 g Spinach leaves, blended with 80 ml Whole milk 350-370 g Strong white bread flour 1/3 tsp Salt 2 tbsp Caster white sugar 5 g Active dry yeast 3 Medium eggs, at room temperature plus 1 egg white for the topping 140 g Unsalted butter, softened and cubed

1. Blend spinach leaves and whole milk togther until you have a smooth mixture. Set aside.
2. Place the flour in the bowl of a table mixer fitted with a dough hook. Place the salt and sugar on one side of the bowl and the yeast on the other side. Add in spinach milk and eggs and mix on a slow speed for 2 minutes, or until all the flour has been incorporated, then mix on a medium speed for 5 minutes. Gradually add the cubed butter, piece by piece, and mix for a further 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl to ensure the butter is thoroughly mixed in. The dough should look shiny, and feel soft but not too sticky.
3. Transfer the dough to a well-greased large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Once risen, place in the fridge for 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
4. Grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Remove the cooled dough from the fridge and knead lightly for 2-3 minutes to knock back the air.
5. Shape the dough into a loaf and place into the prepared pan. You can also divide the dough into 7 even pieces. Working with one piece at a time and keeping the remaining dough covered, shape each piece into a smooth ball by repeatedly tucking the dough under itself. Place the balls in the loaf pan at a slight angle to each other so the pattern is slightly uneven. Cover with clingfilm and leave to prove in a warm area for 1-2 hours, or until it has doubled in size again.
6. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Beat the egg white and brush the top of the brioche with the egg wash. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until risen and deep golden all over. Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool to room temperature before slicing. Store the cooled bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.