“The only antidote to the magic of images is the magic of words.”
Camille Paglia
Antidote! To think of it in the mildest terms, an antidote is a remedy that relieves. Well if you’ve had the good fortune to experience this Antidote, then you’ll know the remedy is good, delicious and refreshing! I was fortunate to get a taste of the Antidote line of cold pressed juices while at The Lodi for our food styling workshop last month. I have to say that I was very impressed with the juices on all counts. Great well balanced ‘real’ taste, fresh, refreshing and so much variety.
I am a huge fan of cold pressed juices, and this market segment seems to be exploding. A virtual flood of cold pressed juices has hit the market of late, much to the delight of thirsty customers. Count me among them since I am eternally charmed by the concept. The concept of ‘all the goodness in a bottle‘ does tempt as days get very busy sometimes and one tends to neglect oneself. Also, if there are kids around, it feels good to offer them organic, clean, pesticide free ‘healthy’ juices. And if the juices are delicious to the last drop too, then you’re in business!Antidote seems to have nailed just that!
Since Antidote do solely juices and mylks {nut milks}, they’ve gone all the way and explored about every ingredient good for you. Then they’ve bottled them in these deep amber bottles which are quaint and almost like old fashioned medicine bottles. The whole look IMHO connects well to brand identity; for me, just looking at the bottle was food for thought! Yes actually, the drinks are bottled in dark amber glass bottles so that the live enzymes stay intact unaffected by heat or sunlight. I thought that was very cool, and seemed to make a lot of sense.
No preservatives, no added sugars and only organic produce make them one of the popular choices in the NCR these days. The cost might be high, but then organic produce does come with a hefty price tag. That doesn’t deter the brand from its ever growing loyalty base. With delivery points at Lodi Road, Malcha Marg and Chanakya Puri, and home delivery in Gurgaon, they have seen a steady increase in customers. Antidote also has a retail outlet at Select City Walk, Saket.
Antidote offers a bespoke service, customised for individual needs as required, working in tandem with their in-house nutritionists. They offer several different plans – The Cleanse & Juice Programs. For eg the ‘Go Liquid Until Dinner’ Cleanse is one that caught mye glad eye! From a 1 day trial to an advanced 10 day programme, the choices are varied. The same for juice programmes with options like Exhale, Skinny Down, Horse Power, the names are as innovative as what’s in the juice. I haven’t tried any of their nut mylks but some of my favourites juices include
The Flusher with apple, carrot, celery, ginger & green coffee extract, the flavours individually enticing your taste buds, The Alkalizer with Apple, Courgette, Parsley & Peppermint, The Polisher with pineapple, pear, arugula, green tea, peppermint, cinnamon, ginger & ashwagandha extract, and The Conditioner with almond milk, vanilla water & coconut sugar
You can even do a juice a day! I can’t wait to try one of their plans after which maybe I can tell you if it worked it’s magic on me or not, but I can definitely sing praises of the quality, the product packaging, the label information, the seamless delivery and of course the fresh delicious taste. Even the wheat grass cold pressed juice was good to the last drop {I’m saying that because I’ve recently had some really unpalatable versions from elsewhere}.
While the jury will always be out as to whether cold pressed juices vs fruit eaten whole is the right way to go, I am no expert or nutritionist. I just know that I find cold pressed juices a good refreshing option, especially to packaged juices with added sugars and lost enzymes. Additionally, the nut mylks might be a boon for those who are lactose intolerant, and also to vegans. That Conditioner juice with almond, vanilla water and coconut sugar definitely had my mind believe the bottle had coffee hidden in there somewhere. For a coffee lover like me, that good!Ph: + 91 9717412218 8 am to 8 pm
Email: antidotecleanses@gmail.com
“He who controls the spice controls the universe.”
Frank Herbert
The Masala Dabba #2. February 2016. It’s strange how often we connect spices to savoury foods, often in India spice is synonymous with a curry! Delightfully enough, as we blog on, reading more, breaking new ground and exploring our palettes, ingredients take on new meaning. For instance, there is always so much more you can do with spices, enough to make them leap out of the masala dabba or spice box!!
Yes I’m back with the second version of our collaborative spice journey with exploring or rather ‘shooting’ spices, a fun interaction called by the ever sweet Dolphia, seconded enthusiastically by my soul sister Simi and yours truly. We’ve collected a new spice girl along the way. Meeta joins us this month as we delve into the fascinating world of spices. It’s only about styling and shooting spices, yet for me, the inspiration often goes a step further. It’s impossible to just shoot spices without following my nose to the simmering pot, hence a recipe is born now and then!
It began with shooting spices, and eventually turned into a winter inspiration. I desserted with spice! The three found their way into this absolutely smooth and delicious Gur Panna Cotta With Candied Walnuts. Talk about flavours that compliment each other! If panna cotta is not divine enough on it’s own, this version turned out to be sublime, a recipe I contributed for my column on askme.wellness.com.I couldn’t just stop there so I then drank or sangriad with it! The Sangria Mocktail was great fun to shoot. You could go down the red wine way with this of course. I mean, after all a recipe is often a springboard for further creativity. With cinnamon it’s difficult not to think of warming, comforting wafts of sweetness in the air. I plan on making bite sized cinnabons some day soon. They really call my name. I think the mini dessert trend happening now, along with my recent spice overdrive, might well be the culprit!Our spices of choice for the first month to challenge us – Cinnamon + Cloves + Star Anise. Three spices, cinnamon I use often, cloves a little rarely, and star anise possibly never. While I love how star anise looks, one of the prettiest spices ever, the flavours are often overbearing. Yet, surprise, surprise.I used star anise in a the trio of spices to make aSpiced Strawberry Wine Jam for this Chocolate Berry Wine Fallen Gateau and I was rewarded with beautiful lilting flavours. As I begin to use star anise more often, or rather infuse it, keeping it at a minimum, the gentle undertones are rather endearing.
Cinnamon The inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree, harvested during the rainy season when pliable and then dried into curls sold as sticks or ground into a powder.With its warm, sweet flavor, cinnamon is one of the biggest workhorses on the spice shelf. Cooks often use it to flavor baked goods and drinks, but cinnamon also works wonders in stews and sauces. Matches: apples, berries, chicken, chocolate, coffee, custards, fruit, lamb, oranges, pears, rice
Cloves Native to Indonesia, cloves are small nailed shaped flower buds that are dried and have a sweet, somewhat penetrating flavor. They can be bought whole or ground. Ground cloves are commonly used in baking. Matches: apples, beets, game, ham, lamb, pumpkin, sausage, tea, tomatoes, walnuts, wine
Star Anise A star-shaped, dark brown pod that contains a pea-size seed in each of its eight segments. Native to China, star anise comes from a small evergreen tree. It’s flavor is slightly more bitter than that of regular anise seed. Asian cooks use star anise to give a licorice flavor to savory dishes, particularly those with pork and poultry. Matches: duck, eggs, fish, leeks, pastry, pears, pork, poultry, pumpkin, shrimp.
Do stop by our other spice girls as well as we share this charming journey from one month to the next! Hope you enjoy it as much as we are.
‘Welcome to Lakshman Sagar‘ greeted the well mannered, soft spoken and affable manager of the resort, Tejinder {aka Teji} as we alight from the car that drives us into the resort. Welcome to Lakshman Sagar where all you have to do is nothing. The words stayed in my head through our stay. They rang so true and make you want to celebrate all that they could possibly mean, and more!Nothing quite prepares you for the luxury and peace of Lakshman Sagar. Nothing at all. It caught me by surprise, a place I have been putting off visiting for over a year. Now I can’t wait to get back there again!! That’s just how good the resort is, the team that delivers their concept of “slow Living” like it should be. And the concept comes with oodles of down to earth luxury. Not rose tinted, not high heeled in any way. It’s down to earth good, and just the way I like love it. {Warning: Long post with loads of images}
It begins with the ease of getting to the resort. A 15 minute drive to Gurgaon station got us to the Ajmer Shatabdi which came on the dot on time. I wish Indian Railways was cleaner and the food was leaps better, but well that’s another story. Off at Ajmer, into the waiting car, it was a smooth, pleasant and quick hour and a half drive to the resort. The highway is amazing, possibly the best stretch of highways in India that I have driven along.Getting there was a breeze, and to welcome us was the most refreshing nimbu paani presented most beautifully in true Sewara style. That hospitality stayed through the visit, never wavering, never faltering, truly endearing.
At the fringe of the Badlands of India, Lakshman Sagar was built in the late 19th century as a hunting lodge by the then Thakur of Raipur, Lakshman Singh Ji to host other noble families and British emissaries. As a continuation of the hospitality and traditions of the House of Raipur; Sewara has envisioned a getaway much like Thakur Lakshman Singh Ji, though with a conservationist view of the heritage and surroundings.The first thing that catch your attention are two heritage buildings standing tall to welcome you. The Zanana (women) quarters and Mardana (men) quarters, designed historically for the ladies and men respectively, offer hints to Rajput culture and traditional customs like pardah or reflecting the grandeur of mehfils & baithak. Seeped in history, every corner of Lakshman Sagar depicts the nuances of hunting holidays during the days of the Raj. From the machans used for tiger spotting to the man-made lake to attract game, great care has been taken to restore the priceless heritage.The re-conceptualization of Lakshman Sagar is manifested through the endless detailing in the architecture & design, the cuisine, and the well-thought of activities & non-activities tailored personally for the guests in a captivating natural topography, ideal for mindless relaxation. Things that impressed – bespoke services, local and sustainable processes, loads of thought in everything on site, a team effort, very knowledgeable staff. Also that the furniture, coasters, ash trays etc are all made in house.As Teji walked us around the beautifully maintained 32 acre property, I could not help but marvel at the attention to detail . Keeping local traditions in mind, 12 mud cottages dot the property, each delightfully designed and each offering the privacy you would never expect. One step into our cottage and I knew instantly what makes Lakshman Sagar so special. That the interiors use only locally sourced products, be it the stone walls or the rock cut basin in the washrooms, the rock cut pool individual pool outside each room, to bottles for water, copper glasses for water, oil cans, native linen, bric a brac from Rajasthan, the list is endless.
The 12 cottages have been meticulously planned and conceptualized with assistance from the vanguards of sustainable design – architects, Vasant & Revathi Kamat and designer duo Sahil & Sarthak. Merging Rajasthani design with eco sensibility,the twelve 900 sq ft mud and stone cottages, supplement the Mardana and Zanana and invoke an experience both private and symbiotic with nature. Such a phenomenal job, one that you have to see to believe.
Just being there for 2 days was a life changing experience. Being in touch with nature, doing nothing that requires you to hurry, a complete bespoke experience. The high point of out first evening, the sun downer that is best seen for the rooftop of the Zanana. Where else can you get such a beautiful birds eye view of peacocks readying to fly back ‘home’ to a 300 year old banyan tree. It was fascinating to see them line up in their tens to literally go to a take off point, and fly the distance just before sun set. All this while enjoying the most delicious coffee, namakpaaraas and shakarpaaras that hit a nostalgic childhood note. The connect of the good old days is very alive.
Evening are lazily spent around a well lit bonfire just as it begins to get dark. The first night by the catchment was spent pretty much brushing up our star gazing skills with Teji sharing his infinite knowledge and we following one constellation to another. They do have a telescope up at the Zanana too, but it was unserviceable at the time. That didn’t matter as the night was clear and the stars shone bright! The other thing that shone bright was the food. Never ending goodness of local cuisine appeared at every course. Around the bonfire we enjoyed makki ke pappad, chicken and spinach pakoras with finger liking good chutneys, hari and imli ki chutney.
Just as we thought we couldn’t eat more, it was time for dinner. At Lakshman Sagar, the chefs take great pride in doing salads too, with everything locally sourced and beautifully plated.The vegetables are all sourced from their organic farm around the corner. Chutneys and achaars are a quintessential part of local Rajasthani cuisine, and there are more combinations than you can imagine. We had a different selection at every meal. Crisp fresh linen and possibly the biggest bed I have ever seen, ensured a sound restful sleep, only to be woken up by the calls of peacocks the next morning.
Not sure whether it is more fascination to see peacocks at sundown or at dusk and sunrise, yet we had all times of day leisurely covered. Just as first light hit the horizon, the peacocks flew back one by one from the tree to the hillside across the catchment, each calling the next. It was like the march of peacocks, and then they settled over this side for the day.
And if there are so many peacocks, can feathers be far behind? The daughter collected hundreds of feathers from across the property much to her glee. Nothing to do suited her just fine! She had a go at the potters wheel, also at fishing though she didn’t catch a single fish! We were told that you either need a ton of patience OR luck to catch one.
Before feathers and fishing, there was breakfast. It was delightful to put it mildly. I love the luxury of bespoke vacations. Eat when you like and what you like; also if need be, where you like! Everything is delivered with ease, efficiency and huge smiles. No one’s in a hurry, the pace is leisurely, which also means that you end up eating a lot. The good thing about slow living is that you walk a lot too, to burn it off.Breakfast day 1 was something like this – Fresh orange juice, maize dalia, googri {overnight soaked and cooked wheat kernels and horsegram}, sapota/cheeku jam, gum berry jam, fresh fruit, gur/jaggery, boora, honey, achaar, masala omelet, fire roasted tomato. Nothing refined or processed. Pertinently, every member of staff knows every ingredient, every dish, the origins as well as the recipe. That was quite intriguing!
Post the potters wheel and idling away angling, we languished by our pool back in the room for a bit.
It was difficult to put the camera down. I wish I had a lens for wildlife photography. My kit lens wasn’t the best for this, but we caught a few antelopes / neelgai by the waterhole, tried to catch the turtles in the catchment pool, and a few ducks too.
What the camera couldn’t capture, the mind certainly did. Birds we saw included the lapwing, spotted owl, kingfisher, egret, dove, green pigeon, comorant, wagtail, parrot, tern, swallow, heron, sunbird, babbler, robin, bulbul, wagtail, waterhen, starling, bee eater, koel and ducks of every kind. You can go bird watching and spot up to 150 different species. Dyal Singh, Teji’s deputy, is like a bird encyclopedia!
Amazingly it was time to eat again! Lunch was simple yet lavish – moongori sabzi, spring onion, methi aloo, a feta beet salad {the basil flavoured feta was locally made & divine}, sesame/til chutney, garlic chutney, mixed veg pickle, pomegranate raita, masoor dal, jowar roti, coriander pulao. Everything was freshly prepared and bursting with flavour. Ended with a chefs special sweet, ghewar, again a quintessential part of local cuisine.It’s always fun to drop by the local marketplace/business district to get a feel of any city, to discover it’s essence. Dyal Singh, was sweet enough to drive us there, stopping first at the local spice market. Since chilies were the only spice in season and being voraciously traded, that’s all the eye could see. What a splendid sight, made even better by a flock of sheep that came along. More entertainment. I’d never have thought that sheep eat chilies. They do, by the mouthfuls!! And they appeared to enjoy the mouthfuls they grabbed, until they were herded away.
We took a quick trip down to the local village in Raipur. It had the quintessential closeness of a small town feel as we walked through the narrow single lane market, much like a high street. The colours, the sights, the sounds, local language all fascinate.The shops were an eclectic mix of odds and ends. Who would expect a cold pressed sesame oil being milled freshly, a gun maker, a show maker and such shops rubbing shoulders along the street. Not much to shop here rather to my disappointment, actually nothing at all! Yet the walk through was quite an experience, a market held within two old city gates.Also within the gates was the privately owned Raipur Fort, one of the few such heritage sites that has royalty in residence. It’s a beautiful property but clearly in need of restoration as the unoccupied parts have fallen to ruins.Built in true traditional Rajasthani architecture, you can see remnants of royal days gone by, replete with jharokas, a sheesh mahal, domes, arches, stained glass and a beautiful stone courtyard. I believe they are looking to restore this portion to offer it as a heritage hotel in the region.
Also at the property was the sweet black royal filly Raj Rani who was quite pleased to have company. She was the sweetest little horse ever, nibbling away at my wrists and nuzzling my hands. Cacophony added to the otherwise peaceful surroundings with two geese cackling away quite loudly, clearly alarmed by our sudden appearance! I jumped off Dyal Singhs jeep to shoot a gypsy camp enroute too.We were soon on our away back to Lakshman Sagar to be greeted by a fragrant refreshing saffron basil cooler, AND fresh fish that had just been caught {much to the daughters horror who swore never to angle again!}. The fish was part of dinner served that night, but that wasn’t all.That evening saw more of what this beautiful resort offers. A qawwali by local musicians resonated through the night, touching our souls and offering the best of Rajasthani soul music. Rustic, deep throated and vibrant music echoed across the resort, as we headed for a live cooking class led by Teji and his master chef! It’s a great way to get close to local cuisine and see first hand what Indian cooking offers. There were guests from the UK as well, and they were clearly enjoyed the mogri beans, and rabdi pasta being stirred up. These dishes would soon be served up for dinner!While the remaining of dinner was being cooked in the kitchen, we sat around the well lit beautiful bonfire, enjoying starters. On the menu was a bbq chicken and tandoori cauliflower {gobhi} served with delicious chutneys again. Also rice papad. Dinner a short while later included haldi matar sabzi, dal, mogri, fish curry, rabdi pasta, and a pulao. Dessert was an earthy rustic atta jaggery halwa which was delicious to say the least!
Been a busy time since we got here to do nothing. This nothing got better and better. The next morning was to offer yet another highlight of our stay, a field breakfast.
Nothing prepares you for a peep into the local culture and lifestyle, and it was well managed by the team. It’s worth the 2 km walk across the rugged rocky terrain which lies just outside the property. What a pleasant morning it was!
The neatly laid tables and machans that greet you, the residents of the rural farm making fresh flatbread and buttermilk, tamatar ki chutney that’s just come off the fire, all make for quite a memorable experience.For me, also fascinating are home fires, traditional cooking methods, rural lifestyle that is hard to experience first hand and the ambiance of a local farm. To experience their lifestyle at such close quarters was another high-point of our visit. Sheep, goats, cows, puppies, birds, a 60ft well, fields of wheat and barley …Makai and aata flatbeads/roti, fresh homemade sweet butter, freshly churned buttermilk, choorma, masala chai and orange juice made for the most delicious breakfast at the farm. A relaxed walk back, an early lunch {yes food again}, and it was time to leave. We were warmly bid adieu by Teji, Dyal Singh and the team with a traditional serving of gur and dahi for a safe journey.With so much goodness packed into a rather productive weekend dong practically nothing, I know I’ll be back sooner or later. This is one glimpse of India that must be experienced at least once in a lifetime with Sewara. Down to earth, rustic yet luxurious goodness that was amazing!
“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious.”
Ruth Reichl
Recently I spent a day at the Radisson Blu Dwarka to shoot a little for their all day dining restaurant ‘Spring‘. At Spring, lazy Sundays are made special with a lavish ‘Champagne Brunch’ carefully crafted by celebrity chef Rakesh Sethi and his team. Diners can experience a sumptuous spread complimented with an unlimited service of Champagne or soft beverage of choice. It was my first visit to the 217 room property and I was in for a pleasant surprise.
The Radisson Blu Dwarka, a bustling property in the heart of Dwarka, is situated in the capitals largest green residential area, strategically located a 15 minutes’ drive from Indira Gandhi international and domestic airport. All ten floors offer a panoramic view of the city on one side and a beautifully done atrium lobby on the other. For food connoisseurs, the hotel offers a range of dining and entertainment experience at the restaurants including: Spring – an all-day-dining restaurant; Rice – the Oriental restaurant ; Dvar – the gateway to India which offers contemporary interpretations of traditional Indian cuisines by Celebrity Chef Rakesh Sethi; Zeppelin the contemporary lounge bar and Atrium the pastry & confectionary store.
Sundays are made special at Spring, where they promise something for every taste from Pan-Asian to Indian Classics and Western cuisine. They assure that you’ll never have to settle down for anything less than a freshly made meal served from the live buffet counters or from the lavish menu of sorts available at the reataurant. ‘Tis the moment for Champagne indulgence!
Located on the lobby level, Spring has a contemporary look and feel where dining is more of an experience rather than just a sumptuous indulgence. The pristine white interior of the place is flushed with natural light filtering through stylish floor to ceiling glass windows. Offering fresh and innovative food concepts, with dishes cooked à la minute by chefs in each of the five interactive kitchens, the restaurant promises to deliver food straight from the pan to the plate.Lazy Sunday afternoons might never be the same again! For reservations, please call + 88608 09900
“Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I’m taking with me when I go.” Erma Bombeck
The Masala Dabba. A name that paints a spicy picture. A fun food styling experiment born out of a conversation one day in December last year. Spices are something that intrigue us, and are sometimes challenging to shoot. So Dolphia floated the idea, and it was instantly lapped up by Simi and lazy me. It’s always great to have something that gives us inspiration, or maybe focus to shoot. The idea was to shoot the spices, in sets of three, month after month.
Doing something creative as a group is always fun. Makes you want to reach out for the elements time and again. Makes you also impatient to see how different minds style and shoot. It’s another new creative start, one that should see a few months of spicy good fun! This month we each picked a spice…
Nigella {not Lawson 😉} sativa or kalonji Fenugreek or methi daana Caraway or ajwain
A step back into the history of the world, and in many ways spices were central to exploration of uncharted territories, to discovering exotic lands. Spices led to wars and empires being built, and then eventually being lost! Nowhere in history would you find the same ingredient common to being celebrated as an aphrodisiac, holding proven medicinal qualities, yet being an inherent part of the ‘recipe’ for embalming! Such great properties can only be SPICEY!!
Spices are an integral part of the Indian kitchen and each one adds punch and flavour to the pantry. Even though I’ve never used the three of these together, individually they pop up every now and then when I cook. Ajwain shows up a great deal in radish or mooli ke paratha, in root vegetable stir fries and in curries. I use it often as a substitute for oregano in my pasta sauces, giving the seeds a good rub between the palms before throwing them in. They have huge digestive properties.
Fenugreek finds itself more often than never in pickles and curry powders. My mother’s aam ka achaar or mango pickle always had fenugreek, and I still remember the slightly bitter aftertaste after biting into the soft firm seed once pickled. I use fenugreek the most in the tempering or baghaar for kadhi, a yogurt curry with dumplings, which is a huge favourite at home. Fenugreek too offers great digestive properties, is used to treat diabetes, reduces blood pressure, congestion and a host of other illnesses.
Nigella of course lands up most often on the naan, sometimes in a ‘paani ke station wale aloo‘ ki recipe {a water based no oil potato curry served with puri at railway stations in India}, and an inherent part of paanch phoron. Paanch phoron is a five spice blend quintessential to Bengali cuisine. Nigella satvia is one of the five, the others being fenugreek, mustard, fennel and cumin, all seeds.
Shooting spices is always challenging but quite addictive. Already looking forward to what we can do next month with the spice girls!!
Do stop by and explore the dabbas/spice boxes of my other two partners in crime spice Simi @ Turmeric n Spice Dolphia @ Story of Cooks
…and if you’d like to learn a bit of food styling, do check out my next workshop with Darter below
“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.” Robert Browning
Savoury Braided Bread with garlic, rosemary and sundried tomatoes. In my little corner of the world, home baked bread doesn’t get tastier than this. It’s been a while since I baked bread. Getting onto the KitchenAid Culinary Council got me back to doing something I enjoy loads, baking bread. Just the ease of a dough hook of the KitchenAid stand mixer that works magic inside one big bowl, leaving you hands free to add things at will is a liberating feeling.
I had a field day adding my favourite flavours to the bread. The base dough was deep deep garlic and olive oil of course, two of my most favourite flavours in the world. Then I added more flavours to the bread after the first rise, which happened in the bowl of the KA itself. It’s this very convenience that won me over. Threw in some cheese and sun dried bread, another quick knead with the dough hook to mix in the new additions, and voila! Silky smooth dough ready to braid.
Of course you can just shape the loaf if you like, but for me the eternal charm lies in adding some drama to the bread. A twist to the visual effect. A loaf is pretty enough, but a braid is more fun and prettier. It’s also easier to tear apart and devour.
Recipe: Savoury Braided Bread
Summary: Delicious part whole wheat Savoury Braided Bread where the mixer does all the hard work, literally all in the same bowl. It leaves you all the time in the world to gently braid the silky smooth dough to offer a show stopper loaf. With Christmas holiday colours of red, green and white, this vegetarian bread is bursting with flavour and goodness. Fresh bread will never be the same again! Makes 1 X 12″ loaf. Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 1 hour plus rising time Ingredients:
Dough
250g plain flour
100g whole-wheat flour
1/2 tbsp dried instant yeast
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp dried rosemary
1 tsp salt
Pinch sugar
200-250ml buttermilk
40g extra virgin olive oil
50g cheddar
Filling/Topping
Few sprigs of rosemary
3 cloves garlic, sliced
25g sundried tomatoes in olive oil, chopped {reserve a few bits of tomato for the topping if you like}
Himalayan sea salt for topping
Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling over
Method:
Place flours, yeast, salt, sugar, minced garlic and dried herbs in bowl of Kitchen Aid. With the dough hook attachment on, run KA on speed 4 for 30 seconds to mix.
Add 200ml buttermilk and olive oil and work dough hook until the mixture comes together and a sticky dough forms. Place the shield, and pour in more buttermilk if required.
Continue to knead to dough for a further 5-6 minutes on speed 5 until you get smooth silky dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Drizzle the ball with olive oil, turn over, cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave in a warm place for the dough to double. It should take a couple of hours.
Preheat the oven to 250C.
Once the dough has risen, grate the cheddar into the bowl and add the sundried tomatoes. With the dough hook, mix in the cheese and sundried tomatoes on speed 4 for 30 seconds to incorporate.
Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface. Knead for 30 seconds to being together. Divide into 3 parts, and roll into 10-12″ long ropes.
Braid the ropes into a neat little loaf, tucking the ends in to hold the braid. Spray a KA jelly roll pan with olive oil {or lightly brush} and gently transfer the braided dough onto the baking pan. Sprinkle over with Himalayan sea salt, sliced garlic, reserved sundried tomato and sprigs of rosemary.
Bake at 250C for 10 minutes, then reduce to 200C and continue to bake for approximately 30-40 minutes until golden brown, and hollow when tapped underneath. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil as soon as it comes out.
Serve warm with extra virgin olive oil to dip into.
