Hello!!
It’s nice to have you here and really great to be here!
Lots of new subscribers this week - both free and paid, so thank you for supporting my work and cooking my recipes!
This week is another delicious dispatch from In My Kitchen with three brand new recipes!
I know there are going to be some hot days ahead still here in Melbourne, but right now it’s quite chilly and so I’ve been leaning into Autumn cooking. The markets are brimming with pumpkins and squash, grapes and beautiful golden and purple-hued beetroots. I bought the last peaches of the season today, tomatoes (which seem to be going strong) and also some blackberries which will hopefully be around for a little longer.
First up though, is a realllllly delicious banana and matcha swirl loaf. It’s squishy and not too sweet and topped with sesame seeds and Demerara sugar for a good crunch. If you don’t have matcha powder, you can also just make the cake as a plain banana loaf. It will still be delicious.
Fennel is so good at the moment, so next up is a delicious and simple weeknight pasta. Fennel is one of my favourite vegetables and when it is slowly cooked and slightly caramelised, it becomes so sweet and has a beautiful texture. With lemon, pine nuts, currants and anchovies, I think you’re going to love this one.
Finally there is a recipe for baked sardines. First you make a simple peperonata which I also add fennel seeds and oregano which is a little non-traditional, but works here. The fileted sardines are simply layered onto it. Crunchy bread crumbs with pecorino are scattered all over (fish and cheese is more common in Italian cooking than you think) and baked in the oven until just cooked through (not very long at all)! I served these with just a leafy salad and it was a perfect dinner.
If you’re enjoying my newsletter, feel free to share it or you can also give a gift subscription!
Happy cooking!
Julia
BANANA MATCHA SWIRL LOAF
Serves 8-10
200 g unsalted butter, softened
150 g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
2 ripe bananas (around 300 g once peeled), mashed
100 ml full cream milk
300 g self raising flour
Sea salt
5 g matcha powder
Sesame seeds, to top
Demerara sugar, to top
Preheat oven to 180C (200 C conventional). Grease and line a 23 x 13 x 8 cm loaf tin.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment*, place the butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat well on a medium speed until light and pale. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add in the mashed bananas and milk and continue to mix until well combined. The mixture may look a little split at this stage, but it will come together once the dry ingredients are incorporated.
Reduce the speed to low and add in the flour and a good pinch of salt. Mix until just combined then remove the bowl from the stand mixer.
Divide the mixture in half. Set aside one half of the mixture and with the second half, sieve in the matcha powder and mix in by hand, either a whisk or a wooden spoon, until combined. Try not to over mix the batter here, a few small lumps of matcha are ok.
Spoon 1/4 of the matcha batter into the prepared tin, followed by 1/4 of the plain batter. Repeat until all of the batters have been spooned into the tin. Smooth the batter using the back of a spoon. Using a chopstick or toothpick, swirl the batter.
Top with a good sprinkling of sesame seeds and Demerara sugar.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when tested.
Allow to cool briefly in the tin, then remove and complete cooling on a wire rack.
*If you don’t have a stand mixer, use handheld beaters or alternatively mix using a bowl and whisk.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to In My Kitchen to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.