This week we set ourselves the challenge of cooking a 3 course meal in a mug, in the microwave! Yes, it really can be done. For starter, there’s a cheesey garlic bread, followed by a pancetta and spinach risotto, and finished off with a delicious melting chocolate pudding.
Begin by making the cheesey garlic bread. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt into a mug and mix together. Add in the olive oil and milk, and give it another mix. Sprinkle on the garlic, cheese, and herbs, then cook in the microwave for 1 minute. Leave to stand for another minute, and then you can enjoy.
On to the main course, which I was pleasantly surprised by how good this tasted. Pour the olive oil, chopped onion, pancetta, and garlic paste into your mug and microwave for 1 minute. Add the rice and 100ml stock and give it a mix together. Place your mug in a shallow microwaveable dish, as the liquid may boil over, and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir, and add another 100ml of stock, then cook for 2 minutes. Keep repeating this until all the stock has been used up and the rice is cooked. Stir in the spinach leaves, and allow them to wilt. Sprinkle over the parmesan and mix it through. This will thicken the risotto slightly. Season with freshly ground black pepper, and get stuck straight in.
Now for the finale, melting chocolate puddings! These have a gooey chocolatey middle, and are simple delicious. In your mug, microwave the chocolate chips and butter for 1 minute until they have melted into one. Stir in the sugar, vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, and egg, until it’s all nice and smooth. Microwave for 1 minute (watch out, as it may over flow), then allow to stand for another minute. Serve with cream or ice cream, and a drizzling of chocolate sauce.
Note: For all of these recipes we used a 500ml capacity mug, and 800 watt microwave.