Cheddar Smoked Paprika Soda Bread #BreadBakers

Cheddar Smoked Paprika Soda Bread is cheesy good with a subtle smoky flavor that is great freshly sliced or toasted. Use it for sandwiches or to dip in a sunny side up fried egg yolk. So good! 

Smoked paprika is one of my favorite spices and I use it a lot when I am cooking vegetarian dishes, for a little extra flavor that I might have otherwise added with smoked bacon in a non-vegetarian recipe. It’s great in tomato sauce and chili for the same reason, even when those do have meat already. 

One of the few things my husband and I disagree on is smoked cheese. I’m a fan. He’s not. In this quick soda bread, the smoked paprika makes a nice background to the cheddar, a hint of smokiness that reminds me of smoked cheese. What’s funny is even the smoked cheese naysayer loves this bread. Go figure.

Cheddar Smoked Paprika Soda Bread

If you don’t have buttermilk but do have white vinegar and regular milk, make a buttermilk substitute by adding 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar to your measuring jug, then fill up to the volume needed with milk. Stir and set aside for about five minutes and you are ready to start mixing.

Ingredients

3 cups or 375g all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 cup or 57g unsalted butter, cut into pieces

4 oz or 113g extra sharp cheddar, finely grated 

1 1/4 cups or 296ml buttermilk

For glaze:

1 egg white

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and line a baking pan with baking parchment or a silicone liner.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and smoked paprika. 

With a pastry blender or a fork, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. 

Add the grated cheddar cheese a little at a time and stir well to combine. 

Pour in buttermilk and mix until dough comes together. 

Turn the dough out onto a heavily floured surface.

Knead the dough by folding it over and pressing it down four or five times. 

Shape the dough into a round loaf and place it on your prepared baking sheet. Whisk the smoked paprika into the egg white and brush the top of the loaf with the mixture.  

Use a lame or sharp knife to cut a large X into the top of the dough.  

Bake in your preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. 

Cool on a wire rack then slice to serve.

Enjoy!

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so it’s time for Bread Bakers and our theme is spiced savory recipes! Check out all the bread recipes we are sharing today. Many thanks to our host, Renu of Cook with Renu. 

• Cheddar Smoked Paprika Soda Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Copy Cat Domino's Zingy Paneer Parcel by Sneha's Recipe
• Everything Bagel Biscuits by Palatable Pastime
• Flourless Quinoa Vegetable Muffins by Cook with Renu
• Rosemary, Sage, and Wild Rice Levain by A Messy Kitchen
• Spicy Onion Buns by Ambrosia
• Spiced Up Potato, Turmeric, and Oat Bread by Magical Ingredients
• Sourdough Focaccia with Italian Herbs and Spices by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Aloo Paratha by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Swedish Rye Bread (Limpa) by Karen's Kitchen Stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Cheddar Smoked Paprika Soda Bread! 

 .

Parmesan Bacon Potato Squares

Parmesan Bacon Potato Squares are a tasty appetizer (or side dish) of thinly sliced potatoes layered with bacon, cream and cheese that turn crispy and more-ish when they are baked, cooled then cut into squares and roasted in the oven. 

Fair warning: this dish needs to be started at least one day before you plan to serve it but in a way, that’s the best part because it can be mostly made, if necessary, several days ahead and chilled. Leave the final roasting till just before you are ready to serve. 

Potatoes are sliced thinly and layered with cheese and cooked bacon then pressed and chilled so they can be cut into handy squares. Make sure you don’t skip the step where you secure the squares with toothpicks or you will mightily regret it. 

The original recipe on Taste.com.au skips this step and my first batch out of the oven was a complete disaster. The potatoes were delicious for sure, but they weren’t anything like squares anymore. See the evidence below. Don't let this happen to you. 

This recipe makes enough for an enormous crowd. It’s easily halved but, should you have any leftovers, they are spectacular with scrambled eggs, added to an omelet or reheated and eaten as a side dish. (That is what I did with my disastrous ones.) 

 

Parmesan Bacon Potato Squares

As mentioned, this recipe is adapted from one on Taste.com.au, one of my favorite sites for recipe inspiration. You will need two casserole dishes, one larger for the actual potato dish and one you can fit inside it to compact the potatoes while they are chilling. 

Ingredients

6 lbs or 2.72 kg russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly with a mandoline

6 fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked, plus extra for garnish

5 1/3 oz or 150g Parmesan cheese, grated

1 1/2 cups or 355ml heavy cream

3 lbs or 1.36kg thin-sliced smoked bacon, fried (not too crispy) and drained 

1/2 cup or 113g butter, melted and cooled

Optional: Sriracha sauce for drizzling on to serve

Method

If you don’t have a mandolin with which to cut the potatoes, by all means, use a sharp knife but do cut the slices as thinly as possible. 

Use baking parchment to line the base and up the sides of a 9 x 14 in or 23x35mm pan, allowing the sides to overhang somewhat. Put two layers of your thinly sliced potatoes in evenly in the bottom of the lined pan. Top with a little of the cream and thyme leaves. 

Cover those with a layer of Parmesan and cooked bacon. 

Add another double layer of sliced potatoes. Continue building your casserole until you’ve used all of your potatoes and bacon and thyme, making sure you finish with a couple of layers of potatoes on top, along with the last of the Parmesan and cream. 

Finally, pour the melted butter over the top. Fold the baking parchment in and cover the top with some cling film. 

Place a smaller casserole dish on top of the dish and fill with something heavy. I used eight cans of various vegetables. Leave to rest for about 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C.

Remove the weights and cling film. Cover the large casserole top in foil and bake for about 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender. Remove the foil (save for later) and bake for another 20 minutes to brown the top. 

Put the foil back on the dish and put the smaller casserole dish back on top. Leave to cool until it can be put in the refrigerator. When cool, put it (casserole dish still on top) in the refrigerator to chill overnight. 

When you are ready to make the squares, start your oven preheating to 400°F or 200°C.

Loosen the sides of the potatoes from the pan and turn the whole rectangle out onto a cutting board so your top is now your bottom. Remove the parchment paper and discard. 

Trim the edges with a sharp knife so you have straight sides. (These scraps are great reheated in a non-stick skillet. Add some eggs for a delicious weekend breakfast.) 

Cut the chilled potato into squares.

 Skewer each one with a toothpick, top to bottom. Put them on their sides on two or three large baking pans (with sides) and roast 10 minutes in your hot oven or until lightly golden. 

Turn the squares over and roast until they are crispy and deep golden, about 10-15 more minutes.

Drain on paper towels. 

Serve warm with sriracha sauce to drizzle, if desired, and some sprigs of thyme for garnish. 

Enjoy! 

It's the first Wednesday of the month so that means it's time for our Foodie Extravaganza celebration of National Potatoes Day which is August 19th this year! Many thanks to our host, Karen of Karen's Kitchen Stories. 

• Baked Potato Ragada Chat from Magical Ingredients
• Chorizo Stuffed Hash Browns from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Lemon & Dill Potato Salad with No Mayonnaise from Faith Hope Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Parmesan Bacon Potato Squares from Food Lust People Love
• Potato Lollipops from Sheha's Recipe
• Potato Puffs from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Salt and Vinegar Skillet Potatoes from Palatable Pastime
• Schupfnudeln (German Potato Noodles) from Tara's Multicultural Table
• Tartiflette with Fromage Fort from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

Pin these Parmesan Bacon Potato Squares!

 .

Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

This Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus is a most wonderful side dish or even appetizer. Set the dish out and let guests help themselves to spear after spear. They'll be gone in a jiffy. 

According to Miss Manners and Emily Post, asparagus is legitimately finger food. One of my favorite ways to eat it is cooked but still crunchy to dip in a soft-boiled egg. Runny egg yolk and buttered asparagus with lemon = yum! It’s like deconstructed Hollandaise sauce. (Make a note now and try it!) Who needs toast soldiers? 

These days asparagus seems to be available year round, flown in from somewhere (mostly Peru, it seems, which makes sense since they terrace-farm up the mountain sides so it's like a different temperature/season as the altitude changes) but I do particularly enjoy buying it during springtime when it comes from farms closer to home. 

If you love asparagus, you might also like my cheesy asparagus potato tart, asparagus salmon fried rice, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto or pan-fried chicken with bacon and asparagus. 

Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

You can use the Parmesan that comes in the plastic shaker container for this dish but I don’t think it melts as effectively the kind freshly grated from a wedge. Either way, keep a close eye on in as it browns. 

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, mashed then minced

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 oz or 56g freshly grated Parmesan

Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 220°C.

Arrange asparagus in a single layer on a baking pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Roast in preheated oven until vibrant in color and tender-crisp, about 10 minutes).

While the asparagus is in the oven, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat, stirring constantly. The milk solids will separate and then start to brown. Cook, still stirring, until the butter is golden colored with browned bits at the bottom. 

Take it off the heat and quickly stir in the minced garlic. 

Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. 

Remove the asparagus pan from the oven and turn the oven to broil (grill) on high. 

Spoon the garlicky browned butter over the asparagus and toss to coat. 

Cover with the grated Parmesan. 

Return the pan to the oven for a few minutes, watching it carefully so it doesn’t burn. You just want to see the cheese and asparagus turned a little golden in places. 

Enjoy!

This month my Baking Bloggers are sharing asparagus recipes and I want to make them ALL. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our organizer and host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Pancetta and Asparagus Tarts by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Asparagus and Ham Quiche by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheesy Garlic Roasted Asparagus by Making Miracles
• Goat Cheese Chicken with Asparagus by Palatable Pastime
• Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche Tart by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus by Food Lust People Love
• Asparagus With Cheese Sauce by Sneha's Recipe
• Minty Roasted Asparagus Vegan Pesto by Magical Ingredients

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

Pin this Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus!

 .

Spicy Marinated Cheese

Spicy marinated cheese is not just pretty, it’s also delicious! It’s the perfect party food for the cheese lovers in your life. 

Personally I can, and often did, eat cheese in prodigious quantities sliced straight off the block or wedge. In fact, in a recent conversation with my primary care physician, I blamed cheese for my high cholesterol and (ahem) I’ve been cutting down on its consumption since. I’ve never smoked and I’m not much of a sweet eater. After alcohol, I’d call cheese my second vice. 

It’s hard to resist. 

I've been pretty good for weeks but today I’m going to eat spicy marinated cheese! My friend and fellow blogger Camilla is hosting our Sunday FunDay event today and she chose the theme holiday cheese boards, saying “Let's share recipes or tips for making holiday cheese boards. Think phyllo-wrapped baked cheeses, pickle relishes, homemade crackers, spiced nuts, and more. Anything you would put on a cheese board is fair game. Be as creative as you like!” This is like permission, right? 

Make sure you scroll down past my recipe to see what everyone else has made. 

Spicy Marinated Cheese

Start this recipe early in the day because it’s best if the cheese has at least eight hours to marinate. It can also be made one day ahead. My recipe is adapted from one on the blog The Kitchen is my Playground. 

Ingredients

8 oz or 227g block extra sharp cheddar cheese

8 oz or 227g block cream cheese

For the marinade:

1 red bell pepper aka (Br.E. capsicum)

3 cloves garlic

1 hot red chili pepper

1/2 cup or 120ml white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 cup or 120ml extra-virgin olive oil

small bunch fresh parsley, leaves picked off

2 green onion tops, green part only

small bunch fresh basil, leaves picked off

few good grinds black pepper

Method

The first step in this recipe is to put your two cheeses in the freezer. They are much easier to slice neatly when well chilled. 

Secondly, we’ll roast the outside of the bell pepper in order to peel it. You can put it in a baking pan and use the broiler (making sure to turn the pepper often) or use a long fork to hold the red pepper over your gas stove till it chars and bubbles all over. 

Either way, once the pepper is properly charred, pop it in a plastic bag and close. Set aside. Once cooled, the peel will slip right off.

Mince the garlic and the hot chili pepper. Put them both in a clean jar with the vinegar. Add in the sugar and salt and give the jar a swish to help them dissolve. The vinegar helps reduce the sharpness of the garlic and chili pepper while simultaneously being infused with their flavors.  

Finely chop your parsley, onion tops and basil. Add the olive oil to the marinade jar along with the herbs. Give the jar a good shake. 

Use your clean hands to remove all of the skin off the bell pepper and a sharp knife to remove the core. Discard the seeds. Cut half of the bell pepper into thin strips, then small cubes. Run a knife through these a few times to mince. 

(Save the other half of the bell pepper for another recipe. It can be used in place of the jar of pimentos in my spicy pimento cheese recipe.)

Add the bell pepper to the marinade jar along with a few good grinds of black pepper and shake well to combine. 

Cut the block of cheddar in half lengthwise; then cut it crosswise into 1/4 in or 1/2 cm thick slices. Lay the cheddar out single file on your cutting board. 

Cut the cream cheese block in half lengthwise and put half back in the freezer. Cut the cream cheese in similarly thick slices. As you cut the cream cheese, place each piece on top of a piece of cheddar. This makes the cream cheese easier to handle because as it softens up, it will stick to whatever you set it on and it’s easier to handle if that’s not the cutting board. Get the other half out of the freezer and slice it up too, still setting each slice on top of the cheddar. 

Arrange your pairs of cheese slices in as small a dish as possible where they will fit comfortably without being too crowded. 

Give the marinade another good shake then spoon the more solid bits over the cheese squares. 

Pour the rest of the marinade over. 

Cover the dish with cling film and refrigerate it for at least eight hours.

To serve, transfer the cheese to a serving platter and spoon a little of the marinade over it. 

Save the rest of the marinade to use as salad dressing. It makes a wonderful vinaigrette. 

Serve the spicy marinated cheese with crackers or sliced baguette.

Enjoy! 

Check out all the other holiday cheese board posts my Sunday FunDay friends are sharing! Many thanks to Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla for this fun theme and for hosting!

• Breakfast Charcuterie Board by Palatable Pastime
• Cheese Boards: A Feast for the Eyes and the Tastebuds by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Holiday Cheese Board Ideas by Making Miracles
• Homemade Grilled Veggie Cottage Cheese by Sneha's Recipe
• Honey Thyme Feta by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Spicy Marinated Cheese by Food Lust People Love

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

Pin this Spicy Marinated Cheese! 

 .

Cheesy Mixed Seafood Gratin #FishFridayFoodies

This cheesy mixed seafood gratin is a comforting dish your whole family will love. Serve it with grilled baguette slices as an appetizer, as a stand alone main course or to top a baked potato or pasta. 

I tend to buy seafood, at least when I don’t buy it fresh, in bags where it’s been flash frozen in individual pieces because that makes it easy to thaw and cook exactly what you need. 

The problem with this system, if it can even be called a system, is that sometimes I have one fish fillet or a handful of shrimp - or whatever - at the end of the bag. That’s when this tasty recipe comes in handy. 

Use whatever seafood you have! Crab meat, shrimp, any sort of boneless fish – smoked or not, scallops, mussels, even lobster meat, if you are so lucky. I’d probably draw the line at octopus or squid since they can be chewy when overcooked. 

Cheesy Mixed Seafood Gratin 

One more suggestion for serving this cheesy mixed seafood gratin: Add some frozen peas or even diced carrots, bake it topped with mashed potatoes instead of the breadcrumbs and call it fish pie, another warm and comforting dish. I love the versatility of this dish!

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 113g butter 

2 small stalks celery

1/2 medium onion

1/2 green bellpepper

1 red chili pepper (optional)

2 large cloves garlic

1/2 cup or 63g flour 

2 cups or 473ml milk 

8 oz or 226g cream cheese, at room temperature

2 fillets fish (about 3 1/2  – 4 1/4 oz or 100-120g each – I used one tilapia, one salmon

1 lb 1 2/3 oz or 500g shrimps, already peeled and deveined

3 1/2 oz or 100g smoked salmon

1 tablespoon sherry

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

For topping:

1/2 cup, packed, or 60g fresh breadcrumbs

3 oz or 85g Parmesan, grated

3 oz or 85g mozzarella, grated

drizzle olive oil

Optional to garnish:

Chopped flat leaf parsley

Method

Remove the hard strings and cut the celery into small cubes. Peel and dice the onion. Dice the green pepper, red pepper and mince the garlic.

Heat half of the butter over a low to medium flame, preferably in a pan that can go into the oven later. No one wants more washing up. 

Sauté the vegetables in the butter until they’ve softened, about 5-7 minutes. 

Add in the rest of the butter and let it melt. 

Add in the flour and stir until it’s well combined with the butter and veg with no flour showing. I like to add my flour with a sifter or sieve a little at a time, just sprinkling the top.

Once it’s all added, cook for a minute or two to get rid of the floury flavor. 

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. 

Turn off the heat under the pan and stir the milk in a little at a time stirring well so you don’t create any lumps. 

Once it’s completely incorporated, add in the cream cheese cut into cubes and turn the heat back on low. 

Meanwhile, cut your seafood into bite-sized pieces. I chopped the smoked salmon pretty fine because it is quite salty and it's best dispersed evenly throughout the gratin. 

When the sauce has thickened, add the seafood to the pan and cook for several minutes over a medium flame until the sauce begins to bubble a little and seafood is just cooked through. 

Add in the sherry and season to taste with sea salt (if you are using salty smoked fish you might not need any) and few good grinds of black pepper. Stir well. 

If your pan is not oven-friendly now is the time to transfer the mixture to a baking dish that is. Toss together the breadcrumbs, Parmesan and mozzarella. Sprinkle the mixture on the seafood. 

Drizzle the top with olive oil. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the gratin is bubbling nicely around the edges. 

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with a little chopped parsley for garnish. 

Serve on grilled bread, as topping for a baked potato or cooked pasta, or even on its own - with fresh veggies or a green salad to complete the meal. 

Enjoy!

This month my Friday Fish Foodie friends are sharing comfort food recipes made with seafood. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastime and our chief organizer Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out all the wonderful dishes!

• Bourride from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheesy Mixed Seafood Gratin from Food Lust People Love
• Crab and Rice Croquettes from Palatable Pastime
• Creamy Crab Soup from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Creamed Salmon from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• East Indian Fried Dry Bombil Masala from Sneha's Recipe
• Fish Po' Boy Sandwich from Making Miracles
• Popcorn-Battered Fried Fish, Remembering Oklahoma, and Kids in the Kitchen from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Are you a food blogger who would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of the month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517 (at) gmail.com. Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

     Pin this Cheesy Mixed Seafood Gratin! 

.