I got several cake and dessert cook books over Christmas and was looking at all the muffin recipes. I always shudder when I am passing a particular muffin outlet at a large shopping centre near me as you can see them pouring huge amounts of oil into their muffin mix just before putting them in the oven. I’m willing to bet that oil is a horrible low grade just above toxic product but sadly the queues at the counter are still long. I always make them with butter and while looking through a baking cookbook I started thinking about more nutritious savoury muffin options. I had just made a load of semi sundried tomatoes and since they are such a Mediterranean staple decided to match them with the Parma and feta I had in the fridge. I’m sure it has been done before but I’m very proud of these delicious little beauties… I just had one and dipped it in a puddle of extra virgin olive oil and I’m hooked. These are made with a gluten free flour (I used rice flour) but any gluten free white flour blend will work. The added fats and protein have reduced their GI and above all made these much more nutritious than anything for sale in that outlet I mentioned above…..

10 oz gluten free flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp bicarb of soda
1 tsp baking powder

3 oz butter – melted
9fl oz milk
2 eggs – beaten with the milk

2 oz parma ham chopped into small pieces
2 oz feta crumbled
2 oz semi sundried tomatoes chopped
2 tbsp chopped chives

Sieve the first 4 ingredients into your mixing bowl
Beat the milk and eggs in to form a thick batter
Beat in the melted butter, scraping down the mixture

Take bowl out and manually fold in the ham, feta, tomatoes and chives to ensure an even distribution
Full your muffin cases about 2/3’s full and bake at 190C for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown

They will be delicious either just out of the oven with a big salad or bowl of soup or in a lunchbox to take to work or school. They will freeze perfectly and you can heat them from frozen.

Enjoy !