The Thrifty Cookbook: 476 Ways to Eat Well With Leftovers (73 page)

It’s odd that muffins – so much more an American than a British tradition – tend to be overlooked as a magnificent and easy way to use up fruit. Even better, though it may seem odd to find a recipe for them in this chapter, savoury muffins use up cheese and leftover vegetables – fantastic for lunchboxes or picnics and pretty damn good for a grownup desk lunch with, if you have it, a little chutney on the side.

In general, the trick is to mix muffin batter as little as possible, not worrying about a lump here or there (which also makes them ideal for kids to make).

This recipe makes quite a few muffins, especially if you decide to use mini-muffin tins instead of large ones, and they freeze brilliantly. To reheat them, wrap them in foil and put in a low oven (around 150°C/ Gas Mark 2) for 10 minutes or so.

Rather than fiddling around with muffin papers, you could use a well-greased rubber or tin muffin tray – but papers do help keep the muffins moist.

Makes 10–12

225g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

100g caster sugar (for fruit muffins), or 2 teaspoons caster sugar (for savoury muffins
)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled

150ml milk

For fruit muffins:

about 125g fruit, plus a handful of chopped nuts, if you like them

For savoury muffins:

about 125g raw or leftover cooked vegetables, and up to 60g grated cheese, along with a pinch of salt and a grinding of black pepper

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl and add your chosen fruit or vegetables, plus any other dry flavourings. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk together the egg, butter and milk. Add the egg mix to the dry ingredients and quickly stir everything together. It should have a thick ‘dropping’ consistency; if it seems too stiff, add a splash more milk – but
do not overwork the mixture.

Dollop the batter into muffin cases, filling them about two-thirds full. Bake in the centre of the oven for 15–20 minutes (less if you are using mini-muffin tins), until risen and golden. Leave in the tins until cool enough to handle, then transfer to a wire rack.

Blackberries or raspberries
These are each delightful, and taste so much better (I think) than blueberries, with that same dark staining through the muffin. You could add the grated zest of an orange or lemon, which is particularly good with raspberries.

Banana
Use very ripe bananas, mash them with a fork and add a squeeze of lemon and another of runny honey. A pinch of ground cinnamon also works well. When cooked, sprinkle poppy seeds on top.

Peach, nectarine or apricot
Cut the fruit into small dice. Add a scraping of vanilla pod seeds or a pinch of ground cinnamon to the mix.

Grated apple
Use 1 large or 2 small eating apples, peeled and grated, plus a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and about 60g raisins, sultanas or chopped dates.

Broccoli
Cut leftover broccoli into small florets or dice and add about 60g mature Cheddar cheese, grated.

Carrot
Use coarsely grated carrot plus 60g mature Cheddar cheese, grated. A small handful of pumpkin seeds and a tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander would be nice here too.

Courgette
Grate courgettes that would otherwise languish in the fridge. Add an extra egg, ricotta cheese, broken into small pieces, and a few chopped chives, if you have them.

Peas
Leftover peas are lovely with grated Parmesan.

Pumpkin
Grate the flesh. Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 30g chopped dates. Use soft brown sugar and add an extra egg for lightness.

Spinach
Cooked, squeezed, cooled and chopped. Add a tablespoon of Onion Marmalade (see
page 42
). Grate Parmesan over the top of the muffins as they come out of the oven.

Ham and cheese
Use 50g grated mature Cheddar cheese, ½ teacup of finely chopped cooked ham and a teaspoon of wholegrain or smooth mustard. A few chopped sage leaves or chives would also be nice here.

My mum made this a lot when we were children. The fruit sinks into the cake mixture, leaving a craggy top and a moist, sticky underneath. You can whiz it all up with a hand whisk and then pretty much forget about it as it cooks. It looks and tastes as good as any bought pâtisserie for Sunday lunch with friends.

This pudding is equally tasty with the tartness of spring rhubarb or with ripe peaches, nectarines, apricots or even pears, but don’t be tempted to use unripe fruit. If you find that the fruit sinks right to the bottom while it cooks – as it will sometimes do – the taste will still be fabulous and in some ways it can be an advantage: with the fruit playing hide-and-seek, the cake looks plain and uninspiring, until you cut into it.

Serves 4

about 500g rhubarb, nectarines, peaches or apricots

110g caster sugar, plus extra for sweetening the fruit

110g butter, at room temperature

2 large eggs

110g self-raising flour, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

a little milk or water

icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. To prepare the fruit, slice rhubarb into 2.5cm lengths or stone and slice peaches, nectarines or apricots. If the fruit is tart (and rhubarb will be), sprinkle caster sugar over it (you’ll need a good 3 tablespoons for rhubarb).

Make the base of the pudding as you would a standard sponge. First beat the sugar and butter together until pale and fluffy. Lightly whisk the eggs in a separate bowl and then beat them slowly into the sugary butter, including a spoonful of the flour with the final addition to prevent them curdling. Add the vanilla. Sift the flour and salt from a good height into the bowl and lightly fold them in. If necessary, add a little milk or water to give the mixture a good dropping consistency – i.e. make it a mixture that will only just drop off a spoon.

Scrape the mixture into a well-buttered 20cm cake tin – ideally, a springform or loose-bottomed tin, which will help when turning the cake out. Drop the fruit gently all over the mixture. Bake for 40 minutes, until cooked right through (a metal skewer or a strand of raw spaghetti inserted into the centre should come out clean). Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the tin.

Dust with icing sugar and serve warm, with cream or ice cream and some sliced fresh fruit, if you have it. Last time I made this pudding I used apricots for the cake and served it with a bowl of fresh mango – the pairing was delicious.