Savoury muffins recipe

With a couple of fine sunny weekends under our belt, it seems the time might finally have come to shake the spiders out of the picnic rugs and embrace the possibilities of a suntan. With that in mind, I thought I’d share a couple of recipes that offer an alternative to the humble sandwich at the heart of a satisfying picnic: savoury muffins. I came across the original recipe in the Saturday Times a few weeks ago, and have adapted them a little to suit my tastes. I reckon you could add pretty much anything to the basic recipe; these two are my favourites so far - please share your variations in the comments below.

Courgette, pine nut and chilli muffins
makes 12

275g self-raising flour
1 middle sized courgette, grated
50g parmesan
1 pinch chilli flakes

1 or 2 shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 handful pine nuts, toasted

2 eggs
80g melted butter
175ml milk
2tbsp natural yoghurt
salt & pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C / 170°C fan. Line a standard muffin tray with paper cases.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the courgette and all the dry ingredients.
3. Gently fry the shallots and garlic in olive oil, and when they’re nearly done, chuck the pine nuts into the frying pan as well for the last couple of minutes.
4. In another bowl, beat together the eggs, butter, milk and yoghurt, then add the shallots and pine nuts. Tip the whole lot into the dry mixture and stir until just combined.
5. Spoon into your muffin cases, and bake for about 25 minutes.

These muffins are delicious eaten warm, but will keep in the fridge for several days. They’re also great eaten cold - as part of a picnic, or as a commuter's breakfast on the train - but if you prefer, they can be reheated in the microwave (approx 30 secs on full power should do it).

Feta, bacon and tomato muffins

275g self-raising flour
24 cherry tomatoes, halved
150g feta, cubed
fresh thyme or rosemary (whichever you prefer, or have more of in your garden...)
black pepper

2 or 3 rashers streaky bacon, chopped into little pieces
2 shallots, finely chopped

2 eggs
80g melted butter (unsalted)
175ml milk
2tbsp natural yoghurt

I’ve recommended unsalted butter this time, as the feta and bacon are quite salty in themselves. Use the same technique as before, preparing your shallots and bacon in a frying pan, your dry ingredients in a big bowl, and your wet ingredients in a smaller one. Once the bacon and shallots are ready, combine the whole lot together and spoon into muffin cases. Bake and eat as before.
These are also delicious without the bacon, if you're vegetarian, or forgot to buy bacon...