One for cheese bread addicts, without the hassle of yeast cookery. So good eaten warm when the little pockets of cheese are gooey, a mélange of Emmental and gruyère, but otherwise Comté or Abondance, and the pecorino could be Parmesan. They will be there on demand for several days thereafter stored in an airtight bag, and will come back to life given 10 minutes in an oven heated to 170°C fan/190°C/gas mark 5.
Makes 12*
- 250g plain flour
- 50g ground almonds
- 50g pecorino, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- pinch of sea salt
- 3 medium free-range eggs
- 225ml whole milk
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 8 sun-dried tomato halves in oil, drained and finely chopped
- 100g Emmental, cut into 1cm dice
- 100g gruyère, cut into 1cm dice
- 2 tablespoons pesto
- 1 heaped tablespoon coarsely snipped chives
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas mark 7, and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases; alternatively, butter and line the base with paper. Combine the flour, ground almonds, pecorino, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk in another large bowl, then stir in the olive oil. Pour this mixture onto the dry ingredients and mix to a lumpy batter. Fold in the sun-dried tomatoes. Combine the two cheeses, set aside about a quarter and fold in the remainder. Dot with the pesto and gently fold over a few times to streak the mixture. Divide between the paper cases, filling them to within 1cm of the top. Place a couple of cubes of the reserved cheese in the very centre of each muffin, then scatter over a pinch of chives.
Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 170°C fan/190°C/gas mark 5 and bake for a further 15 minutes. Serve them warm or newly cooled.
*The mixture makes at least 12 muffins, but depending on the size of your moulds, you may get a few more.
HIGH IN VITS E, B12, CALCIUM, PHOSPHOROUS | SOURCE OF VITS A, B2, ZINC
Energy 299 Kcal | Fat 20.1g | Sat fat 6.2g | Carbs 17.2g | Sugar 1.5g | Protein 11.9g | Salt 0.8g