Ham, Brie and Leek Muffins

These savoury muffins are very easy to make and I think they are perfect for Sunday brunch or a picnic basket. Served warm with a little salad on the side, they make a great starter.

In fact, you can go a little overboard with these muffins! You can use a combination of cornmeal and flour. Try using some fresh herbs like parsley or basil or dill or a hint of garlic.

Veggies like boiled spinach, corn, carrots and peas (drain thoroughly or you could end up with one soggy muffin!) also make good additions. If you prefer, you can use spicy sausage or smoked salmon instead of ham, even boiled shrimps or crab meat. If you don't have brie, use a tablespoon of Italian (or any other) dressing for flavour.

Chopped almonds or pine nuts in the muffin give it a contrasting texture, without making it a sweet muffin. A little bit of mustard sauce in the batter goes a long way, so do not over-use it.

Get the full recipe here...

Prep Time: 20 mins Total Time: 45 mins Makes: 15 - 18 muffins Ingredients: Method of Preparation: 3 cups flour 1/2 cup veg oil 1/4 cup olive oil 3 eggs 3/4 cup milk 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 3 tsps baking powder 2 tbsps grated parmesan 2 tbsps brie, chopped 1 small leek, chopped 1 cup diced ham 1 tsp cayenne pepper In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the two oils, eggs, milk and cayenne pepper. Add the flour mixture a little at a time into the wet ingredients; Combine all the ingredients - but do not overmix. Add the leek, brie and diced ham. Mix evenly. Sprinkle chopped herbs on the top (optional). Spoon the mixture into greased or paper lined muffin tins and sprinkle the grated parmesan on the top. Bake at 160 - 180 deg for about 25 - 30 minutes. Serve the savoury muffins warm. Personal Notes: It's important NOT TO OVERMIX muffin batter. Over-mixing develops the gluten in the flour which will produce a tough and dense muffin with tunnels. Just a few strokes should do to combine the ingredients. The batter should still be lumpy. The higher sugar and fat content in a muffin, you will have a richer cake-like muffin with a softer crumb. The increased fat content also minimizes the development of gluten. If using a dark colored pan, reduce the oven temperature a bit because dark colored pans absorb more heat, so they become hotter than light colored pans. Paper or foil muffin cup liners are sometimes used to line the muffin pans. They help to make clean-up easier but they also help to keep the muffins moist and help prevent them from drying out. However, if you like your muffins to have a crust, do not use paper liners. Instead, spray the muffin pan with a non stick vegetable spray. Make sure you do not overbake muffins or they will be dry. Other Recipes: http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=savory+muffins Google Images: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=savory+muffins Google Book Search: http://books.google.com/books?q=savory+muffins Courtesy: CrazyaboutBaking.blogspot.com

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