Cheese And Bacon Puffs

I have shared my cheese puff recipe before but these combine two of my all time favourite foods.

These little gems are crispy on the outside, slightly gooey on the inside and utterly delicious!

I like to use a smoked bacon as it gives more flavour.

Makes 48-60 mini muffin sized puffs. Leftover batter happily lives in the fridge for 48hours.

Ingredients

200g bacon

350g tapioca flour

170g Cheddar, grated

2 eggs

150mls oil

350mls milk

A pinch of cayenne pepper

A little salt

Method

Over a high heat, fry the bacon until crispy and the fat has rendered.

Spoon the cooked bacon onto some absorbent kitchen towel and squeeze to get as much fat out as you can.

Place the bacon in a food processor and pulse to create bacon crumbs.

Now add all of the remaining ingredients and whizz to form a thick batter.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade.

Grease 2 x 24 hole mini muffin tin, I just use the fat from the bacon!

Fill the muffin hole to two thirds and pop the tin in the oven.

Bake for 15-18 minutes. 

Depending on the size of your muffin tins you may have batter leftover, you can repeat the above or cover and keep it in the fridge, it will last 48 hours.

Molasses Glazed Bacon and Cheese Meatloaf

Meatloaf is very popular in our house and to make it gluten free I cheat and use crushed gluten free corn chips instead of hunting around looking for gluten free breadcrumbs in the freezer!

As the chipotle chilli goes in the food processor to be chopped I do try to remove most of the seeds so that it isn’t too spicy for the younger taste buds around our table but feel free to keep the seeds in if you like a little extra heat.

Makes 1 large meatloaf which feeds 6. I normally double the recipe and bake two at a time on seperate baking sheets and freeze one for a later date, this meatloaf freezes brilliantly. If you do have any leftovers they are lovely in a sandwich the next day.

Ingredients

150g full flavoured Cheddar cheese

100g corn chips, gluten free

200g bacon, smoked if possible, rind removed

2 eggs

175g brown onions, peeled and quartered

1 chipotle chilli in Adobe sauce, seeds removed

500g minced pork

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoons dried oregano

freshly ground pepper

GLAZE

50mls gluten free Worcestershire sauce

100mls tomato ketchup

1 tablespoon molasses

Method

In a food processor, grate the cheese, pour into a large bowl and change the grater blade to the regular blade.

Now whizz the bacon and egg until finely chopped, tip onto the cheese.

Finally whizz the onion and chipotle chilli until roughly chopped. Tip this onto the cheese mix. Add some pepper.

Add the minced pork to the bowl along with the molasses and oregano, use your hands to combine the meat very well.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade, line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

Form the meat into a long fat sausage, around 30cm long and 5-6cm diameter.

Combine the glaze ingredients and brush over the meatloaf. Keep the leftover glaze.

Bake the meatloaf for 60 minutes, regularly brush the glaze over every 15 minutes. Glaze more frequently towards the end of cooking but keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!

 

 

Mega Macaroni Cheese With Pancetta

This recipe is a life saver if you need to plan ahead or feed in bulk!

The quantities are LARGE, I use an 8 litre stock pot for the final mix through but you end up with truckloads of yummy mac cheese, perfect for during the holidays when you might want a night off as it freezes really well. I also freeze it in a variety of sized trays, family, three portions or teenage boy portions!

The mac cheese in the foreground has just been baked, all the rest are heading into my freezer.

Serves 14-18 depending on your portions.

Ingredients

500g pancetta, speck or smoked bacon, rind removed and finely diced

1 kg macaroni

300g butter

200g plain flour

2 litres milk

1kg cheddar, grated

salt and pepper to taste

Method

In a large frying pan, cook the pancetta over a high heat until the fat renders and it is crispy, set aside.

Cook the pasta as per the packet instructions in a very large pan, that’s the 8 litre one I use!

In another large pan, I use a 6 litre pan, melt the butter, add the flour and stir while bubbling for one minute.

Pour in the milk and use a whisk to combine well.

Continue whisking the milk until it just comes up to the boil and thickens.

Take off the heat and add 750g of cheese, stir well until melted.

Drain the pasta and return it to the enormous pan! Add the pancetta and rendered fat if you like.

Pour the cheese sauce over and stir well to combine.

Spoon the macaroni into your oven proof dishes, I tend to use foil dishes for in the freezer.

Sprinkle over the remaining cheese.

If freezing, allow to cool, cover with lids or foil and freeze.

If cooking, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade and pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is golden.