2 hours ago
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What savoury snacks do your recipe columnists make when they’re trying to stay away from the biscuit tin?
Jess, by email
The pull of the biscuit tin is all too familiar to Guardian baker Benjamina Ebuehi, who, unsurprisingly, is often found in full “sweet mode”. To counterbalance the intake of cake, she tends to look for “something salty, spiced and crisp”, and, if time is on her side, that usually means homemade tortilla chips. “Chop corn tortillas into triangles, brush with olive oil and seasonings – flaky salt, za’atar, dukkah, garlic granules, or everything bagel seasoning, which is elite.” Bake until nice and crisp, then dunk into hummus. Her fellow Guardian regular Georgina Hayden is also rarely found without a tub of that creamy chickpea dip, whether it’s homemade or shop-bought: “I usually drizzle chilli crisp oil over the top of my hummus, then scoop it up with crudites [celery, carrot, cucumber, say]. That’s so good – and so easy.”
If Hayden’s trying “to be fancy”, however, her attention turns to gildas, – “an olive, a little anchovy and a pickled green chilli on a cocktail stick – or just a lovely, salty, anchovy-stuffed olive”. You could, of course, thread any antipasti you have knocking around on to said stick: “Sun-dried tomato, artichoke heart or one of those gorgeous, marinated onions.” Having a batch of that in the fridge feels “like a treat, but less indulgent”, she adds.
Our columnists often say cheese, too, whether that’s simply a cube (*waves at Ebuehi*) or, for Rukmini Iyer, mixed into some homemade dough and baked: “I mean, it’s still a biscuit, but you can flavour it with whatever you want,” she says, be that with rosemary or sage, or nigella, fennel, caraway or cumin seeds. They’re easy, to boot: “Blitz cheese in a food processor, add spelt flour and butter, and blitz again into a dough. Roll into a log, wrap in baking paper and pop in the fridge.” Iyer usually does this prep in the evening, then, the next morning, she turns on the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4, slices the cheesy log into slim discs, transfers those to a lined oven tray and bakes for 10 minutes, until golden. “You’ve then got freshly baked snacks for the day, which are as good for adults as they are for children.” In a similar vein, cheese pinwheels and straws are another hit chez Hayden: “Lay out a sheet of puff pastry, spread it with Marmite and a bit of butter, then grate over any hard cheeses you have in the fridge.” Cut into strips, gently twist each one into a spiral and bake: “Those last well, too.”
Thomasina Miers’ tactic, meanwhile, is to go nuts: “Toast fennel seeds, then toss them with chilli flakes, sea salt and chopped rosemary. Toss that with some olive oil and honey, then use it to coat a mix of your favourite nuts and seeds.” Roast at 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 for about 20 minutes, until golden, and the job’s a good ’un. Alternatively, up your snack game with a savoury granola, which Ebuehi whips up by mixing nuts, oats, honey (“for a little sweetness”), sesame seeds and seasoning (“za’atar, garlic powder, chilli, for example”), then baking until golden. Eat by the pawful or sprinkle over yoghurt – no, it’s not quite a Hobnob, but it’s pretty damned good nonetheless.
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