For this month’s cookbook of the month I chose a cookbook I got in primary school: “The Usborne Little Round the World Cookbook”. I found it as I got through my old cookbooks.
In it you can findsalty as well as sweet dishes from countries all aroundthe world. I chose to present you a french and a caribbean recipe. I’m always interested in other’s countries foods, I could dive in cookbooks for hours.
Banana bread:
In the Caribbean, bananas are used for cooking and baking in many different ways. The recipe actually includes raisins but I didn’t add them as most of us don’t really like them, but your choice. Enjoy it warm from the oven (best!) with butter or simply without anything.
•115g softened butter
•85g caster sugar
•85g brown sugar
•2 tablespoons milk
•a pinch of salt
•2 teaspoons baking powder
•a pinch of ground nutmeg
•1 egg
•85g chopped walnuts
•225g wholemeal flour
•2 large bananas
•1 teaspoon pure vanilla
Turn on the oven. Lightly grease a loaf tin with melted butter.
Cut the butter into cubes and put them into a bowl. Add the sugars. Beat.
Continue beating until the mixtureis pale, soft and creamy.
Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and nutmeg into a bowl. Add the walnuts.
Beat the egg and milk together. Beat them into the butter mixture.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Beat until everything is well mixed.
Peel the bananas and mash them with a fork. Stir in the vanilla.
Add the banana mixture to the dough and pour the mixture into the loaf tin.
Bake the bread for about 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean.
French apple tart:
Each region in France has it’s own traditional dish based on food that is produced there. Normandy is the main apple-growing area in France. I personally love apples and always love to try different apple-recipe-ideas. You can brush the tart with apricot jam before baking. You can serve it with vanilla ice cream or crème fraîche.
•175g plain flour
•85g chilled butter
•30g caster sugar
•1 egg yolk
•1-2 tablespoons cold water
•450g cooking apples
•55g caster sugar
•3 eating apples
Lightly grease a tart tin with melted butter.
Sift the flour into a large bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and add them to the flour.
Beat until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add 30g caster sugar.
Mix in the egg yolk and enough water to make the dough come together to a ball. Put it into a refrigerator for 30 minutes. Peel the cooking apples, cut them into quaters and cut out their cores. slice the quaters.
Put the apples, cold water and sugar intop a saucepan. Cook them over a low heat until the apples are soft. Stir well.
Press the dough into the prepared tart tin with your fingers. Pick it with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes.
Spoon the cooked apple into the pastry case. Slice the eating apples and arrange them in circles on top.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Enjoy, Noemi (:
