Seriously Moreish Savoury Muffins

I am no trained cook, but I am a foodie and have learnt that we all are capable of taking a recipe and adapting it, once you know a few rules.

Inspired by one of New Zealand’s well known foodies and cook extraordinaire, Annabelle White, I have taken her trusty recipe and, for speed and convenience, made a super-cheat version. I wanted to make around 8 batches of mini muffins for a special occasion (what was I thinking) and I was glad to simplify it right back. It was also a GREAT excuse to use up my moreish homemade chutneys.

Firstly, I removed the bacon from the original recipe because meat doesn’t have to ‘make-ith the muffin’ in my kitchen, if you know what I mean (pescatarian foodie speaking). If you want to add some, add some.

Chutney: The original inspiration had bacon, cayenne pepper and onion. Think salt, spice and texture. I simply substituted those three ingredients with two generous dollops of tasty chutney and an extra grind of salt. I happen to love chutney if you haven’t already noticed, and given my preservery is overflowing with home harvested culinary creations, I had no problem cracking off the top of one of them to make a batch or eight!

Given that chutney generally has (a) a bit of a bite due to the vinegar and spices you’ve thrown in the pot at the time (b) onion tends to be a staple in a chutney and (c)  a story to tell (eg: yard full of plums, fallen feijoa, kerb side bargains etc), then the chutney not only tastes great but has your personal touch – which by default, makes it every tastier!

Great news: these savoury muffins freeze really well; they are delicious on their own or served warm with a wedge of cheese, or a dab of cream cheese on the side; fabulous for lunchboxes and snacks. A wonderful recipe that I have cooked and re-cooked more times than I can recall….beyond the 8 batches!

When not overfilling the tins it makes 30 mini muffins per batch or, if using regular tins – 12 regular sized muffins.

Seriously Moreish Savoury Muffins

Makes: 12 medium sized muffins/30 mini muffins

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups flour (or gluten free flour)
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• a few healthy grinds of rock salt (1/4 tsp-ish)
• a few healthy grinds of fresh cracked pepper
• 1 cup tasty grated cheese (or a combo of leftover cheeses)
• 1 Tbsp chopped parsley (optional)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 75g butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp your favourite homemade chutney

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC fan bake.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder – add salt, pepper, cheese and parsley (if you have any handy).
3. In a separate bowl, beat egg and milk together with cooled melted butter; make a well, slop into the dry mix, add chutney, then fold gently.  Don’t over-mix otherwise it will be tough.
4. Divide mixture into well greased mini muffins tins (spray oil is brilliant) and bake oven for 15 mins.

Thank you Annabelle, this is a wonderful recipe that even my teenage boys are requesting weekly. Ahhh, everyone has to have a ‘go to’ recipe to whip up which everyone loves. Sorted.