This delicious quick tasty and colourful festive soda bread is fantastic over the holiday time, enjoy with soup, cheeses and pickles, or leftover cold meat and salad, a very versatile loaf to have around.

420g wholemeal plain flour

375g white plain flour

1tsp salt

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 x 284ml cartons of buttermilk

2tbs low – fat natural plain yogurt

4 spring onions, cleaned and chopped

Sprig of fresh rosemary, washed and chopped

2tbs fresh parsley, chopped

50g sun dried tomatoes, drained and chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 190c, gas 5, 375f

Sift he flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl, stir in the buttermilk and natural yogurt, mix together to form a firm dough.

Stir in the spring onions, parsley, rosemary and sun – dried tomatoes.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead until just smooth.

Shape dough into a 20cm round, place on a greased oven tray.

Cut 1cm deep slashes in a cross shape on the top of the bread. Brush with a little milk.

Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes until the bread is brown and sounds hollow if tap it underneath. Lift onto a wire rack and leave to cool.