Spicy Pecan and Blue Cheese Savoury Muffins
Ingredients
- 50 g Pecans
- ¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
- 3-4 drops Tabasco
- 75 g Spelt or wholemeal flour
- 75 g Plain flour
- 1 heaped tsp Baking powder
- 65 g Blue cheese (e.g. Stilton)
- 5-6 leaves Fresh sage
- 1 tsp Fresh thyme leaves
- 1 Egg
- 75 ml Milk (any kind)
- 20 ml Olive oil or sunflower oil
- To taste Salt and black pepper (optional)
- A little extra for the tin Olive oil or sunflower oil
Accompaniment
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Description
A nice alternative to bread with soup or salad, and great for picnics and barbecues. Especially good warm from the oven, with or without butter.
Method
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1
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Brush or wipe a little oil in 6 cups of a muffin tin, or line with paper cases if you prefer.
Put the pecans on a small baking tray, scatter over the cayenne pepper and add a few drops of Tabasco, then shake to coat the nuts. Put them in the oven for about 8 minutes, until toasted.
Meanwhile, sift both flours and the baking powder into a mixing bowl, adding any bran left in the sieve into the bowl. Crumble in the cheese in little chunks. Finely chop the sage and add to the bowl with the thyme leaves. Roughly chop the toasted pecans, or bash them with a rolling pin (not too small), then add them to the bowl.
In a jug or cup, briefly whisk together the egg, milk and oil with a fork, with a little extra seasoning if to your taste (I just add a little freshly ground pepper as I find the cheese is salty enough) then pour into the bowl and mix together with a spoon until it just comes together.
Divide the mixture between the 6 greased cups / cases of the muffin tin and bake for 15 - 20 minutes, until they are risen and golden, and a skewer comes out clean (except for maybe some melted cheese) when you insert it into the centre of a muffin.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before removing. Serve straight away or leave to cool on a wire rack.
Chef's Tips
These have quite a kick from the spices, which I really like. If you are not so keen, but like the combination of pecans and blue cheese, just toast the nuts plain.
Walnuts also work really well with blue cheese.
I love the combination of sage and thyme, and we had both in the garden when I was making these up, but you could vary the herb(s) used.
Best on day one but keep quite well in an airtight tin for the second day. Can also be reheated (day 2 or 3) at 180 degrees C for about 15 minutes.
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