Michelle Darmody: Baking with fermented foods
THERE is more and more research surfacing which highlights the benefits of introducing more fermented foods into our diets. They enhance the diversity in your microbiome — the good bacteria in your gut — which in turn aids your mental wellbeing and overall health.
Kefir is becoming more widely available in Irish shops. It tastes like a bitter yogurt drink and is made using milk that has been fermented with a starter.
It contains probiotic bacteria that are good for your gut. It is possible to make kefir at home, once you get the grains to start it off, but it does take a bit of patience.
Some fermented items already feature in our everyday food choices, such as coffee, chocolate, sourdough bread, miso and soy sauce. The technique is an ancient one used to prolong the life of ingredients and in some cases, like chocolate, to enhance the flavour.
I had some miso caramel popcorn recently and it is delicious, the salty, sweet mixture works very well. I have used some miso in the following apple crumble to enhance the flavours and compliment the tartness in the apples.
The kefir ice cream and the pancakes show two different ways of introducing fermented foods into your diet. It is best to eat fermented foods in their raw state but heating or freezing them does not damage all of the beneficial bacteria. In other words, heated fermented foods are better than none.
Miso Apple Crumble
Heat your oven to 180C.
Toss the apple slices in the maple syrup and place into an ovenproof dish.
Rub the the flour, oats, butter and miso paste together until it looks like rough breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar.
Spread the topping over the apples and place into the oven.
Cook for 35 minutes or until the topping is golden and the apples are cooked through.
Maple Syrup and Kefir Ice Cream
Whisk the egg lightly into the cream until it is well combined.
Heat above a saucepan of boiling water until it thickens, whisking gently all of the time. Set aside to cool.
Once cooled to room temperature whisk in the kefir, maple syrup and the vanilla.
Place into a metal container and place it into your freezer. Alternatively, if you have an ice-cream maker you can use that.
Remove the metal container from the freezer every half hour and stir to break up the large crystals as they form.
You will need to do this about five times to create the correct consistency in the final ice-cream.
Kimchi Pancakes with Kefir Dressing
Chop the kimchi if there are large pieces of cabbage.
Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Allow to rest for 10 minutes then season with salt and pepper.
Heat some oil in a pan until hot. Using a large spoon scoop some of the pancake batter onto the pan.
Allow to cook until golden then turn the pancake over to cook on the other side.
Repeat with the rest of the batter, keeping the pancakes warm in a low oven and covered with a plate.
To make the dressing whisk the ingredients together and season to taste.
