Rebecca Wilson Fast Family Food

Three delicious recipes from Rebecca Wilson’s Fast Family Food Cookbook.

Rebecca Wilson’s Banana Puffs

Naturally sweet banana discs wrapped in a vanilla and cinnamon flaky pastry swirl, these sweet little mouthfuls are super easy to make with minimal ingredients.

Makes 12–14 puffs
Prep 10 minutes, Bake 15–20 minutes
Freezable

Love your leftovers

Store the banana puffs in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, place in a hot oven from frozen for 10–12 minutes until piping hot, but be careful to watch they don’t burn.

Ingredients

• 1 x 375g (13oz) sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry*
• 3 large ripe bananas, peeled
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• 1 medium egg*, beaten
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon, plus a little extra for sprinkling
• 2 tsp demerara sugar (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan (220°C/425°F/Gas 7) and line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper.
2. Unroll the pastry and lay it out horizontally in front of you on a flat, clean work surface.
3. Work quickly here as the pastry will become sticky and difficult to work with if sat out for too long. Mash half of one of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl. Add the vanilla extract, maple syrup, if using, and 2 tablespoons of the beaten egg. Mix very well, then scrape every last bit onto the pastry. Use the back of a spoon or a pastry brush to spread the mixture evenly across, reaching right to the edges of the pastry. Use your fingertips to sprinkle the cinnamon over from a height so there is an even coating.
4. Place the remaining 21 ?2 bananas in a line across the length of the pastry sheet, positioned approx 7.5cm (3in) away from the edge closest to you. You essentially want a long sausage shape, with no gaps between the bananas if possible. If your bananas are a little bendy, tear them in half to straighten the sausage shape out. Gather the pastry edge closest to you and roll the pastry up and around the bananas. Keep rolling up until all the pastry is wrapped around the fruit.
5. Trim the ends of the pastry if there’s no banana inside, then cut into 2cm ( 3 ?4in) discs using a sharp knife. Lay the discs on the lined baking sheet, cut banana-side up. If any banana pieces fall out, just push them back into the centre of the pastry. The pastries may look a little messy right now, but don’t worry as they’ll puff up and even out as they bake.
6. Brush the remaining beaten egg over the sides and top of each banana puff. Sprinkle a tiny amount of extra cinnamon on each banana piece. If you like, add a tiny sprinkling of demerara sugar to each one too, this will caramelize in the oven to give a delicious taste and texture.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes until the pastry has puffed up and turned golden on top. Allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before serving warm, or let cool completely and store to enjoy cold later on.

Rebecca Wilson’s Pizza Crackers

So quick to whip up, these crumbly little crackers taste like a cheesy tomato pizza – absolutely delicious! They’re perfect for a picky snack plate or to pop in lunch boxes.

Makes approx. 40 crackers
Prep 10 minutes, Bake 8–10 minutes
Freezable

Love your leftovers

These crackers will keep for up to a week in an airtight container, or you can freeze the raw dough for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly, then roll out and bake as shown in method.

Ingredients

• 160g (scant 11 ?4 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour*, plus extra for dusting
• 85g (1 ?3 cup) chilled unsalted butter*, cubed
• 100g (31 ?2oz) Cheddar cheese*, grated
• 2 tsp dried porcini mushroom powder (optional)
• 2 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 2 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
• 1 medium egg*

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C fan (210°C/415°F/Gas 6–7).
2. Add the flour and butter to a food processor and whizz until the mixture forms the texture of breadcrumbs. Add the cheese, dried porcini mushroom powder, if using, and dried herbs. Pulse until the ingredients are combined. Now add the tomato purée and egg, then whizz until the dough clumps together in the food processor.
3. Tip the ball of dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and tear it in two. Coat one of the pieces of dough in a little flour from the work surface, then use a rolling pin to quickly roll it out as thinly as you can. A thickness of around 3–4mm (1 ?8in) is fine – there is no need to be too neat as they will still turn out delicious.
4. Next, using a sharp knife, cut the dough into chunky strips. I’d suggest approx. 3cm (11 ?4in) wide and 5–6cm (2–21 ?2in) long, but really any shape you like works. You can spend longer using cookie cutters to shape the crackers into pretty designs if you wish.
5. Space the crackers out on a large, non-stick baking tray, ensuring that they do not touch. If you have time or can be bothered, prick each cracker with a fork a few times to stop the crackers from puffing up too much.
6. I like to bake half when I make this recipe and freeze the rest of the dough for another day, so at this point you can either put the other half of dough in the freezer or roll it out and place the second lot of crackers on a second baking tray.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 8–10 minutes until the crackers have darkened and puffed up a touch. Allow to stand on the tray for a minute or so to slightly firm up, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Your kitchen will smell like a pizzeria, which is such an added bonus!
8. Serve as is in lunch boxes or with a picky plate (see page 216 for ideas) and your favourite dip (see pages 213–214).

Rebecca Wilson’s Store Cupboard Peach Pancakes

Pancakes are perfect for batch cooking. Make a huge pile of them for brekkie, then the leftovers can be stored in the freezer for fuss-free mornings in the future. You could even add a frozen pancake to the kiddos’ lunch box wrapped in non-stick baking paper, it’ll be defrosted by lunchtime and delicious!

Makes approx. 20 pancakes
Prep 10 minutes, Bake 10–13 minutes
Freezable

Love your leftovers

The pancakes will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature. Reheat in the toaster or in the oven until piping hot or enjoy them cold. You can also wrap the pancakes in non-stick baking paper and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature and enjoy cold, or reheat in the toaster or microwave until piping hot throughout.

Ingredients

• 1 x 410g (14oz) can of peaches in fruit juice
• 120g (scant 1 cup) self-raising flour*
• 1 1?2 tsp baking powder*
• 40g (generous 1?3 cup) rolled porridge oats*
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 medium eggs*
• 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter* OR flavourless oil like sunflower
• 2 tbsp milk*

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan (200°C/400°F/Gas 6).
2. Open the can of peaches slightly, then pour most of the juice away to discard or drink separately, leaving a little bit of juice in the can. Add the peaches and small amount of juice to a large mixing bowl. Using a potato masher, briefly crush the peaches to break them down into small lumps. You don’t need to worry too much about the size – a chunky peach purée with a good few large lumps is perfect. Add all the remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir until they are just combined and form a batter.
3. Now, you have a few options for how to cook these pancakes. My favourite is to pour the batter into a large baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Spread the batter out in an even layer. Try to make it approx 1.5cm (5?8in) in thickness, but if it’s a little thicker or thinner then that’s completely fine. Bake in the preheated oven for 10–13 minutes until golden on top. Remove from the oven and allow the pancake to cool for a minute in the tray before cutting into 20 squares using a pizza cutter.
4. Alternatively, you can bake this mixture in muffin form. Spoon the mixture into either a 24-hole mini muffin tray or a regular 12-hole muffin tray – ideally silicone or a well-greased metal tray. Bake for 10 minutes (mini muffins) or 20 minutes (regular muffins), until they have puffed up and turned golden.
5. Or, if you want to be traditional, you can opt for standard flat pancake rounds. Fry spoonfuls of the batter in batches in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium high heat with a little oil. Cook for 2–3 minutes on one side until you can see bubbles forming on the top, then flip and cook for a further minute.
6. For little ones, serve the pancakes in finger strips with a little yogurt for dipping and fruit. The big kids can have a little honey drizzled on theirs.

Recipes from Fast Family Food from Rebecca Wilson

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