Brie, Courgette and Red Pepper Muffins

J took the bacon, blue cheese and polenta muffins to work and it went down well in his office. However, the vegetarians were disappointed as they didn't get a look in. I felt I had to bake a vegetarian muffin to compensate and as I still had a lot of cheese leftover from the cheese box I decided it had to be a cheesy one. I found this recipe on BBC Good Food and decided to give it a go. The recipe says to skin the peppers which I've never done before and it worked! It was a little messy so I might try using the grill next time. The website said to blacken the whole pepper on an open flame or under a grill. Place in a bowl and cover with cling film. The peppers will shrink at this point. When it's cool, the skin comes off easily with the help of a small knife. 

These muffins were really tasty. I loved the mix of courgette, peppers and cheese and even though I am a bacon addict, I have to say that these were better than the bacon ones! It was well worth the effort of preparing the peppers (which I was tempted to skip) and pre cooking the courgettes. 

I'm sending this to a few blog challenges this month. 

AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and co hosted by myself on alternate months. The letter this month is Z for Zucchini also known as courgette. 

Simply Eggcellent hosted by Dom from Belleau Kitchen. The theme this month is anything goes.

Extra Veg challenge hosted by Jen from Jen's Food this month. The challenge is run by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle from Utterly Scrummy. These muffins are a great way to incorporate extra veg into your diet.

Simple and in Season hosted by Ren as courgettes are currently in season. 

Love Cake hosted by Ness from Jibber Jabber UK as the theme this month is 'Pack me a Picnic' These muffins are perfect for picnics as they are easy to bake and easy to transport. 

 pre cooking the courgettes 

 multi tasking! 

 lovely buttery courgettes 

 blackened pepper - cover with cling film and when it's cool, scrape the skin off. If there's a little left, just rinse it under a tap and it comes off easily. 

 look at the colourful ingredients! You will spy that there is a little bit of red leicester cheese with the brie as I didn't have enough brie 

 generous sprinkling of applewood cheddar on top before baking 

Recipe from BBC Good Food

2 small or 1 large courgette, cut into small cubes
approximately 25g butter
250g self raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs (or just oregano)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
100mls milk
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 red peppers, skinned and cubed
85g cheddar cheese, grated (I used applewood cheddar as that was what I had in the fridge)
100g brie, cubed

• Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan and cook the courgettes for about 5 minutes until soft and lightly brown. Set aside.
• Place 2 red peppers over an open flame or under the grill until the skin is charred. You will need to turn the pepper with heat resistant tongs.
• Once the pepper is completely charred, place in a bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to cool for a few minutes.
• Use a small knife to scrape away the skin. You may need to rinse the pepper under a tap if the skin does not come off easily.
• Cut the top of the pepper and remove the seeds and inner membrane.
• Slice the pepper into large chunks.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, dried mixed herbs and salt and pepper to taste. 
• Make a well in the centre and add in the eggs, oil and milk.
• Give it a quick stir. 
• Add the courgettes, red peppers, 2/3 of grated cheddar and brie. 
• Stir until just mixed.
• Divide the batter between 12 muffin cases.
• Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top of each muffin and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.