Rich, cakey gluten-free brownies
and a much-requested chicken dish for birthday season.
It’s birthday season in my house. Both of my daughters within a month, my mum, my mother-in-law and my sister all very close together. The celebrations kicked off this past weekend with my youngest turning 7. This kid is a total delight, our little piece of walking, talking, dancing sunshine. She gives the deepest hugs and tells me that she loves me many times a day. Diana was born after some really tough miscarriages. She was so desperately wanted by all of us. I vividly remember sitting on my bed with her in my arms, having just gotten home from the hospital and whispering to her '“thank you for holding on”. I felt so lucky.
The contents of this newsletter are in keeping with the chocolatey treats and requested favourite meals we’ve been eating lately.
Rich, cakey gluten free brownies
Makes 18 pieces
I made these for dessert a couple of weeks back when friends were coming for dinner and I wanted a brownie to have with cream and ice cream for dessert. I do love a fudgey, chewy brownie but sometimes you need something that sits at that halfway point between good chocolate cake (with a bit of bounce) and a dense fudgey brownie because it feels so much nicer under your spoon.
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 1/2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
5 free range eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
150g butter, melted
150g chocolate chips or roughly chopped dark chocolate
Pre heat oven to 160 degrees.
Place the almond meal, tapioca flour, baking powder and cocoa powder in a bowl. Mix well. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and butter.
Add the wet and dry ingredients together and mix until combined. Line a baking tin. I used a 20 x 20cm tin. Pour in the batter, smooth out the top and sprinkle the chocolate on top.
Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until the brownie springs back when touched lightly. Leave to sit for 15 minutes before cutting. Can be served warm or at room temperature.
Roast chicken and sourdough
Serves 4
This is a very firm favourite meal of my 2 daughters. There’s much excitement when it’s on the menu. My youngest requested this for her birthday meal. The chunks of sourdough are cooked with the chicken, along with plenty of garlic, onions and herbs absorbing all that amazing, rich flavour. The key is to pre-soak the bread in chicken stock, olive oil and herbs so it doesn’t dry out while roasting for the 90 minutes or so it’s in the oven. The sourdough ends up perfectly sticky, packed with the pan juices in some bites and crunchy in others.
It’s a simple dish but so delicious.
I buy a loaf of sourdough most weekends and if there’s any left over on Sunday night, I pop it in the freezer. It’s perfect to have that stash on hand when I want to make this recipe.
As I photographed this recipe for my cookbook last year, my girls stood on either side of me choosing which pieces they wanted to eat as soon as I was done. We always have this with a big salad or plenty of green vegetables.
1 medium / large free range chicken
3-4 thick slices stale sourdough, cut into chunks
¾ cup chicken stock
3-4 stems fresh rosemary
½ cup olive oil, plus additional for drizzling
6 garlic cloves
2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Place the chicken in a large oven-proof dish. Drizzle with olive oil and season well.
Place the bread chunks in a bowl. Toss with the stock and rosemary. Let the bread soak up all the liquid. Pour over the olive oil and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Place the bread all around the chicken along with the garlic and pieces of onion.
Roast for 1 ½ hours or until the chicken is cooked through. About halfway through the cooking, tilt the roasting dish so that all the juices from inside the chicken run into the rest of the dish. Turn the pieces of bread over a couple of times while cooking to let the soggy bits get crispy and the crispy bits become juicy. If you want to crisp the bread chunks up even more, remove the chicken from the pan when it’s ready and place it on a plate to rest. Pop the bread back in the oven, raise the temperature to 200 degrees Celsius and cook for a further 10 or so minutes.
Listening to:
I’ve been listening to Kim Gordon’s (of Sonic Youth) new album The Collective. I really like it. It’s a cathartic, noisy listen. I especially like the track I don’t miss my mind. The song BYE BYE is the big hit from it, a packing list almost-rap set to colliding beats. You will dig it or you will not. I really do.
It feels a bit something (unimaginative? old fashioned?) to mention that Kim Gordon is 71 but I found it exciting when I realised. I’m 43, done with having children, ‘enjoying’ the roller coaster of peri-menopause and looking to woman older than me who make art, music, write etc. The playfulness and force of this album feels like a good example of how creative lives can evolve, and most importantly, endure.
Juggernaut from The Spinoff is a podcast series that investigates the 4th labour government who came into power in 1984 after Robert Muldoon called a snap election in a drunken middle of the night announcement. Two episodes are out so far. I was born in 1981 so this isn’t a time I recall experiencing in real time and truthfully didn’t know all that much about it. So far it’s FASCINATING. The New Zealand that is described in the first episode feels hard to imagine and from a time long ago, despite it only being 40 years ago. It really struck me just how young we are as a country. I’m looking forward to listening to the whole series.
I’m enthusiastically endorsing…fresh ginger and mint tea.
I’m a hot drink gal. One of the things I’m sipping constantly lately is fresh ginger and mint tea made in my beloved Kinto Unimug, which I got as a gift from my mother-in-law a few years ago. It’s so brilliant. I grate or dice a chunk of ginger, add boiling water and throw in a few mint leaves. The lid keeps it hot while it brews for 5-10 minutes. It’s super warming and bright and invigorating. You could achieve the same thing in a little teapot, straining the tea when you’re ready to enjoy it.
Other things you might want to cook this week
Beef cheeks with goat cheese polenta is a deeply satisfying winter meal I wrote back in 2019 for my buddies at Nautilus Estate.
This apple, kale, radish and mint winter salad with halloumi is bright and textural and VERY delicious.
My cookbook really shines in winter, with tons of beautiful soup recipes and easy, cosy dinners. You can order a copy HERE. Free shipping in June! x
