Western News: March 28, 2024

10
Thursday March 28 2024
Cheers to the bottomless brunch
EASTER IS THE perfect
time for brunch. With a long
weekend and nowhere to go,
what better way to pass the time
than with a slow leisurely start
to the day with friends and
family.
For those with a sweet tooth,
how about a super-easy pancake
recipe, packed with seeds, that
you can serve straight from the
pan with a side of berries and
cocoa sauce.
Then, to add a celebratory
touch, serve with a bloody
Mary, the ultimate brunch
drink.
Seeded baked pancake
with berries and cocoa
sauce
Serves 4
Pancake batter
50g (generous 1/3 cup) plain,
all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
150ml (2/3 cup) milk
3 eggs, beaten
4 Tbsp runny honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 Tbsp mixed seeds, such as
linseeds/flaxseeds, chia seeds,
sunflower seeds, poppy seeds
2 Tbsp coconut oil
Cocoa sauce
4 Tbsp raw cocoa powder
2½ Tbsp runny honey
2½ Tbsp coconut oil, melted
To serve
150g (¾ cup) Greek yoghurt
50g dried berries, such as goji,
acai, cranberries etc
100g mixed fresh berries such
as blueberries, raspberries, red
currants etc
Icing/confectioners sugar, to dust
23cm ovenproof frying pan/
skillet
Method:
• Preheat the oven to 200°C.
• To make the pancakes, sift the
plain/all-purpose flour, coconut
flour, baking powder and salt
into a mixing bowl. Combine the
milk, eggs, honey and vanilla in
a separate bowl and beat into the
flours to make a smooth batter.
Fold in the mixed seeds.
• Heat the coconut oil in
the ovenproof frying pan/
skillet until melted. Pour in the
pancake batter and transfer to
the preheated oven. Bake in the
preheated oven for 15 minutes
until the pancake is puffed up
and golden.
• Meanwhile, make the cocoa
sauce. Place all the ingredients
in a saucepan with 4 tablespoons
water and heat gently, stirring,
until smooth. Keep warm.
• As soon as the pancake is
cooked, remove it from the oven.
Spoon the yoghurt into the centre
and top with the dried and fresh
berries. Drizzle over the cocoa
sauce and serve at once, dusted
with a little icing/confectioners’
sugar.
Best ever Bloody Mary
Serves 4
400g cherry vine tomatoes
olive oil, for drizzling
500ml tomato juice
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp sriracha chilli sauce
3cm piece of fresh horseradish,
peeled and finely grated
60ml freshly squeezed
lime juice
300ml vodka
sea salt and freshly ground black
pepper
To garnish
Celery stalks
Chilli flakes
Method:
• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Place the tomatoes on a
baking sheet, drizzle with
olive oil and season with salt
and pepper. Roast for 15-20
minutes, or until the skins
begin to split.
• Put the tomato juice and
roast tomatoes in a food
processor and blend until
smooth.
• Transfer to a large jug and
stir in the Worcestershire sauce,
sriracha chilli/chilli sauce and
grated horseradish. Season with
salt and pepper, cover with
cling film and chill in the fridge
for at least 30 minutes.
• When ready to serve, add
the lime juice and vodka and
stir well.
• Place a celery stalk in four
highball glasses, half-fill each
glass with ice and pour in the
Bloody Mary mixture. Garnish
each with a pinch of chilli flakes
and enjoy!
Hop on down to VALENTINES
this Easter Weekend
Hornby restaurant offers more choices and familiar favourites
Thousands of Christchurch families will
have fond memories of enjoying the tasty
food and friendly vibe of Valentines buffet
restaurant, which was located for many
years in the central city.
A New Zealand-wide franchise
operation, the business went through many
changes over the years, then with new
owners taking over the company six years
ago, it gained a new momentum.
A third franchise was set up in Auckland,
its Rotorua restaurant reopened, and in
July 2019, Valentines Christchurch opened
at a new location – Chalmers Street,
Hornby.
As company director Ron Lal explains,
Valentines has a rich history in Kiwi
culture and they wanted to retain that
feeling of nostalgia, but with some new
concepts added to the mix.
“We wanted to offer our customers a new
experience that’s up with the times, and
with a modern twist on hospitality.
“Customers have a lot more choice of
food now,” he says, “for example you can
choose your own meat, which will be
cooked individually for you. We offer a big
selection of dishes, seafood and desserts,
and of course there are the familiar
favourites that the children love, like the
chocolate fountain and an endless supply
of ice-cream.
“We want to wow the customers and
at the same time we want to create that
nostalgic Valentines feel.”
The Valentines tradition of a free meal
for a customer on their birthday has been
upgraded to a celebratory birthday treat
and, of course, with the famous birthday
song being sung by staff, too. Families are
also invited to take advantage of the school
holiday special from time to time. During
the holidays, one child under the age of
eight gets a free lunch if accompanied by a
full paying adult. (T’s & C’s apply.)
Valentines has always been seen as a
100 per cent family restaurant, a tradition
that the new Valentines team is keen to
continue, but Valentines is also a restaurant
for everyone, from families to couples,
to friends getting together to celebrate a
special occasion.
Situated in the heart of the Hornby
shopping precinct, not only is Valentines
the ideal place for people from the Hornby
community to enjoy tasty food and a
warm, friendly vibe, it also employs local
staff, who are treated well and therefore
enjoy working there and giving their
customers the best possible service.
Valentines is open seven days a week,
from 10am till late. Outside the buffet
times they also do the popular Valentines
Shareboxes, which offer a range of
amazing dishes.
7/11 Chalmers Street, Hornby, Christchurch
0800 VAL BUFFET valentines.co.nz