Milly’s Real Food: 100+ easy and delicious recipes to comfort, restore and put a smile on your face. Nicola Millbank
two wells in the tomato mixture and crack in the eggs. If your pan is ovenproof, pop under a hot grill for 5–10 minutes (depending on how runny you like your yolk) or simply place a lid on the pan and steam-cook the eggs.
Scatter with the fresh herbs, the remaining feta and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, then dig in with a wedge of bread.
CASHEW, CRANBERRY AND COCONUT GRANOLA
MAKES
1 jar
I often make this granola recipe for Christmas. I’ll make a big batch, stuff it into a mason jar, and tie a bow around it. It’s so simple to make, not only a fantastic gift but really rather tasty. If you can’t get hold of cranberries, raisins will work just as well. I’m not a big fan of coconut oil (in cooking anyway), but for this it really adds to the flavour. If, however, you can’t get hold of any or don’t want to spend the money on a whole jar (I don’t blame you), then groundnut oil is a good substitute.
INGREDIENTS:
2 mugs rolled oats
1 mug dried cranberries
1 mug cashew nuts
½ mug sunflower seeds
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp melted coconut oil /or groundnut oil
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 160°C/150°C fan/Gas mark 3.
In a large bowl, add the oats, cranberries, cashews, sunflower seeds and desiccated coconut and stir well until everything is combined.
Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Add the honey and coconut or groundnut oil to the bowl. Stir well so the oats are fully coated, then spread out on the baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then remove and give it a good mix up, before returning to the oven for a further 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it in case it starts to burn.
Once golden, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before putting in an airtight container. The granola will keep for up to 2 weeks.
MAKES
1 litre
This will surprise you. I know it sounds a bit weird. Why would you make hazelnut milk when there’s a pint of regular milk in the fridge? I get you. But have you ever felt a bit “claggy” after eating or drinking too much dairy? Or do you sometimes just fancy something a bit different? My cinnamon hazelnut milk is so easy to make, it’s nuts… It works really well with Cashew, Cranberry and Coconut Granola (opposite) or even better in a hot chocolate.
INGREDIENTS:
1 mug raw hazelnuts
1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp honey, optional
METHOD:
Place the hazelnuts, vanilla, cinnamon, honey and 900ml water in a jar or a covered bowl, give it a good stir and leave to soak overnight.
The next day, pop the entire mixture in a blender and blend until smooth.
Place some muslin or a very clean tea towel over another bowl. Pour the hazelnut and water mix into the centre of the tea towel sitting in the bowl, and carefully gather up the edges to create a ball-shaped pouch. Squeeze as much of the hazelnut milk out into the bowl as you can and then pour into a jar and keep in the fridge. It will keep for a few days.
LIGHT BANANA PANCAKES WITH ORANGE DRIZZLE
SERVES
2
I must have been American in a previous life because to me, there is no better thing than pancakes and bacon with lashings of maple syrup. Ever the optimist, I like to think eating this on a frequent basis won’t do too much damage, but I think we all know where that discussion is heading (after all, it’s a little bit of what you fancy that’ll do you good, not plate after plate!). Instead, on the days I have a pancake craving, I make these. Banana is mashed into the batter so you don’t need to use as much flour and you get a light and airy batter that cooks just as well.
INGREDIENTS:
2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
4 level tbsp self-raising flour
2 tsp vegetable oil, for brushing
6 tbsp icing sugar
zest and juice of 1 orange
TO SERVE:
a handful of fresh raspberries
METHOD:
In a blender, blitz the bananas, eggs and flour until smooth. Allow the mixture to rest for a few minutes.
Heat a non-stick pan over a medium heat and brush with the vegetable oil. Ladle tennis ball-sized dollops onto the pan and cook for a couple of minutes until bubbles form on the surface – now they are ready to flip. Using a spatula or fish slice, carefully flip each pancake over one by one.
Cook the pancakes for another minute or two, then transfer onto kitchen paper. You may need to cook the pancakes in batches of 3–4 depending on the size of your pan.
Mix the icing sugar with enough orange juice and zest to form a loose icing with a drizzling consistency. Stack the pancakes, drizzle with the orange icing and serve with fresh raspberries.
BERRY AND GRANOLA FROZEN YOGHURT LOLLIES
SERVES
4
Granola, berries and Greek yoghurt in a lolly? Oh yes. You can thank me later for this one, because it will be very popular with kids and adults alike. You can switch up what you put into them – try grated apple or a natural fruit yoghurt, if you fancy. These feel like a treat but they’re actually a healthy breakfast.
INGREDIENTS:
4 tbsp mixed frozen berries
4 tbsp granola (try my Cashew, Cranberry and Coconut Granola)
2 tbsp honey
4 tbsp Greek yoghurt
2 tbsp melted dark chocolate, optional
EQUIPMENT:
4 ice lolly moulds and sticks
METHOD:
Remove the berries from the freezer and allow to thaw slightly.
Mix together the granola and honey and press into the bottom of the ice lolly moulds.
Add a tablespoon of frozen berries and press down, then spoon over the Greek yoghurt to fill the mould.
Insert the lolly sticks and freeze for 3–4 hours or overnight.
If you want to make them that bit more decadent, dip the lollies in melted chocolate and freeze again before serving.