Pancetta, Manchego and Courgette Muffins

The other week, whilst meal planning and racking my brains to come up with something new for tea for the kids that wasn’t just another sandwich, I realised that I hadn’t made any savoury muffins for a while. Always a favourite with both S and F, I decided to improvise and make a version of an old classic- ham and cheese. Now, whilst Pancetta and Manchego may sound posh, we use the latter (it’s a sheep’s cheese) because Freddie in particular is sensitive to cow dairy- too much causes his eczema to flare up, so we try and avoid it at home where possible. The courgette adds moisture, and is a great way of sneakily adding one of their 5-a-day to their diet! Adam actually donned his pinny and made them and they were delicious- the remaining ones accompanied us on our car journey to Butlins last week!

Pancetta, Manchego and Courgette Muffins

You will need:

• 220g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Quarter tsp mustard powder
• Quarter tsp ground black pepper
• 60g butter, melted
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 250ml milk
• 1 courgette, finely grated
• 150g Manchego cheese
• 160g cubed pancetta

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180C and line a 12 case muffin pan
2. Melt butter and leave to one side to cool. Do the same with the pancetta.
3. Sift the flour with the rest of the dry ingredients.
4. Combine the butter, egg, milk and courgette in a separate bowl.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix slowly with a spoon until just combined. Add in the pancetta and cheese and mix. (Reserve a little bit of cheese to sprinkle on the top before baking.)
6. Spoon into the prepared muffin pan and bake for approximately 35 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
7. Leave to cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, remove and finish cooling on a wire rack.