October 2013 - Couscous, watermelon & feta salad with spiced lamb

Nothing to much to say. This was nice but I made a few changes. I didn't have lamb backstrap so I just used some lamb cutlets. There was no vegetables in the meal at all so I added cherry tomatoes, asparagus and snow peas. The dressing was a bit sweet for me. I doubt I would make this again. 

Couscous, watermelon & feta salad with spiced lamb

125 g Pearl couscous

1/4 c evoo

2 x 250 g lamb backstraps 

1/3 c dukkah

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

2 tbsp honey

1/4 seedless watermelon, sliced

150 g marinated feta, crumbled

2 cups picked watercress sprigs

Cook couscous as per packet instructions. 

Season & cook lamb in a medium high heat. Remove from pan & roll in dukkah. 

Combine lemon zest & juice, honey and oil. Add couscous and stir to combine. 

Slice lamb & serve on top of couscous with watercress, watermelon & feta. 

August 2013 - Roasted Root Vegetable Stew

I lost my cooking mojo a while ago which, subsequently, made me lose my blogging mojo. 

I have actually made two things from this issue. Although I accidentally deleted the photo of Curtis Stone's Sherry-braised pork shoulder with asiago mash from my camera card by accident. I thought I had already downloaded it, turned out I hadn't. Not that it was much of a loss of a photo. While the dish was fabulous with lots of flavour with a tang from the sherry and sherry vinegar. The meat was melty and oozy but it didn't really photograph well. It really looked like I had just dumped it on the plate, splat. With the mash I used a combination of potato and sweet potato and because I couldn't get asiado cheese I used their suggestion of mozzarella. I am not sure I would worry about the cheese in the mash again. It was lovely but the pork dish was already rich and since the mash was made using cream the addition of cheese was just a bit much for me. It made enough at there was plenty left over but I vac packed and froze them. I could take one out and photograph it but it would probably look worse. 

The other dish that I made was Jamie Oliver's Roasted Root Vegetable Stew with Herby Couscous. This was really good. Although I have to question the use of butternut pumpkin in something called "root vegetable" but hey, it tasted good. It also called for celeriac and on the day they only ones available were really soft, spongy and very sad looking so I bought some turnip instead. Since there was a decided lack of green in the dish I added some halved brussels sprouts when roasting. They ended up a bit dark so I think I would either do them whole next time or would add them in a bit later. The couscous went with it beautifully. This is one I would definitely make again. It was especially good after a couple of days without too many veg included with meals. 

Roasted Root Vegetable Stew with Herby Couscous

1 sweet potato, peeled & chopped 

1/4 butternut pumpkin, chopped 

2 carrots, chopped 

2 turnip, chopped 

6-8 baby brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

Splash red wine vinegar (I used raspberry) 

1 tsp dried thyme

1/3 c olive oil 

1 red onion, sliced 

1 bay leaf

1 rosemary sprig, leaves chopped 

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp tomato paste 

400g can tomatoes 

2 c (500ml) vegetable stock

Couscous

1/4 c couscous

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped 

lemon juice

Combine root veg, tbsp oil, vinegar and thyme. Roast at 200 C for 40 min or until just cooked. 

In a saucepan cook red onion for 5 min over low heat. Add bay leaf, rosemary and flour and cook for a further 5 min or until onion is soft. Add tomato paste and cook for 2 min. Add tomatoes & 400 ml stock. Simmer for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add roasted veg and then cook a further 10 min. 

For couscous: add couscous and remaining 100ml hot stock to a bowl and cover and stand for 5 min. Add parsley and squeeze lemon juice. 

Caponata

I don't know why I haven't made caponata before. I have had the recipe bookmarked for ages, I also have another recipe for it bookmarked as well. I have a friend that makes it regularly. I was really pleased with how this turned out. I really only made a couple of changes when making it. I would make a couple of others the next time I make it though. I would add some more harissa as it wasn't quite as spicy as I had hoped and I would cut the celery into smaller pieces as it wasn't quite cooked enough for my liking. I served it with plain couscous. It made for a wonderful dinner. The leftovers were fantastic too. 

Caponata 

(adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi)

80ml olive oil
80ml grapeseed oil
1 large eggplant, cut into 2.5cm dice
3 sticks celery, cut in half and then on an angle into 1.5 cm slices
1 red capsicum, cut into 1.5cm dice

2 handfuls green beans, trimmed and halved
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
½ tsp harissa paste (I would use 1 - 2 tsp next time)
400 g tinned tomatoes
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
20g capers
30g kalamata, pitted and halved
1½ tsp caster sugar
Salt and black pepper
shave parmesan and couscous, to serve

Heat half of both oils in a large pan. Add eggplant and fry until browned. Remove to a colander and drain for a couple of minutes then transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. 

Add half remaining oils to the pan then add the celery and fry until starting to soften. Add capsicum and green beans and cook for a few minutes further. Drain in the colander and then transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. 

Add remaining oils to the pan with onion and harissa cook over a medium-low heat until onion begins to soften. Add the tomatoes and vinegar bring to a simmer then return the vegetables to the pan together with the capers, olives and sugar. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve with couscous and top with shaved parmesan. 

Dukkah-Crusted Lamb with Pearl Couscous Salad

I was invited to spend Christmas with friends this year and it was wonderful. I enjoyed taking a break from cooking and it was nice to be away from home for a few days. It was also terrific to spend time with my friends. However there was a bit of indulgence involved, especially with a trip to Bourke Street Bakery, along with all the other associated Christmas goodies. So I feel the need to have a few lighter meals for a while. This does not include the feast that I am making tomorrow for New Year's Eve, although I am mainly doing that for the leftovers that I can have for lunches. 

I started my lighter meals last night with this lamb recipe over on Taste but I didn't really follow the recipe so will post what I did instead. It was very good, although I think that my dukkah is starting to get some age on it and therefore lose a bit of its flavour so I think I will probably toss it and make up a new lot. The couscous was very good although I think I could have made it a bit healthier if I had used quinoa instead of the pearl couscous. You really could add any salad veg that you wanted to.

Dukkah-Crusted Lamb with Pearl Couscous Salad 

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

4 Lamb loin chops

Olive oil 

Pistachio dukkah (made with pistachios instead of almonds)

1/3 c pearl couscous

1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered if large

1/4 continental cucumber, pealed, quartered and sliced 

1/4 red onion sliced 

1/2 avocado diced 

2 slices of feta cheese, diced 

Handful mint leaves, chopped

Raspberry vinegar (I bought this ages ago, it is so good and well worth it)

salad leaves to serve

Method: 

Drizzle lamb with oil and sprinkle with dukkah giving it a good rub. Set aside while making salad. 

Cook pearl couscous in some vegetable stock following packet directions, rinse in cool water and drain well. Combine couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, avocado, feta and mint, drizzle with a small amount of raspberry vinegar and mix to combine. Refrigerate until serving. 

Heat pan over medium-high heat and add a small about of grapeseed oil to pan. Cook chops for a few minutes each side or until cooked to your liking. Remove and drain on paper towel and trim fat from lamb. 

Serve with salad leaves and couscous salad with an extra drizzle of vinegar. 

December 2011 - Couscous salad with Honey & Saffron Dressing

So, I have had a bit of a crazy weekend. Have done a lot of stuff over the past couple of days and now I am really tired. There is still some stuff I want to get done but it is not going to happen this evening. Hopefully I will get it done tomorrow after work. 

I am going to be honest and tell you that I really haven't looked at this issue that closely. I have flicked through it and saw some lovely food. While flicking through I marked two recipes to make. Both were part of a Moroccan menu by David Morgan. 

A couple of weeks ago I ordered a full lamb along with some pork and beef to fill up my freezer and because meat is so much cheaper if you can buy it in bulk. I picked it up last Wednesday and invited by grandparents up for a meal. I decided to do the Moroccan menu for them and it was a big hit. I made the Chermoula Lamb with yoghurt dressing. I made some changes. I marinated it and but used a on the bone roast instead of boned & butterflied. I also slow roasted instead of doing it on the barbecue. I also didn't have any preserved lemon for the yoghurt dressing (at least I couldn't find the jar I am sure that I have)  so I used some fresh lemon zest in it instead. 

To go with it I made the Couscous salad with Honey & Saffron Dressing. This was so good. My grandmother was really impressed with it. I did make some changes. I added in some capsicum when roasting the other vegetables.  I used craisins in place of the sultanas and omitted the green olives. I didn't have enough oranges so I used grapefruit juice in the dressing instead. I will definitely make this one again. 

Couscous salad with honey and saffron dressing

Serves 8 (actually I think it would feed an army...lol) 

1 kg butternut pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and chopped
2 red onions, cut in wedges
1 red capsicum, deseeded and cut into chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups couscous
200 grams of chopped apricots
100 g craisins
1 3/4 to 2 cups vegetable stock, hot
2 oranges, peeled and segmented

For the dressing
100 ml grapefruit juice
1 tbsp honey
a pinch of saffron threads
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees°C. Mix the pumpkin, onion and capsicum with the olive oil and roast this for 25- 30 minutes or until cooked. Let cool slightly and then peel capsicum and slice into strips.

Combine couscous, apricots, craisins and stock in a bowl and cover with glad wrap or a tight fitting lid until all liquid is absorbed.

Mix the pumpkin and onion with the couscous, apricots, sultanas and orange segments

For the dressing,

Heat the juice, honey and saffron in a small pan until it comes to a boil, then set aside to cool. Whisk in the oil and season to taste. Stir the dressing into the salad and serve.

The photograph here is from the following night when I served some of the left over salad with some lamb cutlets that had be marinated in olive oil and sumac. 

Chorizo, haloumi & roasted vegetables with pearl couscous

One Friday night I just wanted something easy, quick and tasty. I also didn't want to have to go to the supermarket and buying more food when I knew that there was already a bunch of stuff in my house that I could use to make something good for dinner. 

I looked through the fridge and cupboards and decided to make a warm salad with pearl couscous. I do really like pearl couscous but don't use it all that often. It is very good for salads though. I also had some haloumi and chorizo in the fridge so decided to use them along with some roasted vegetables. It was so easy to just throw everything in the oven, boil the couscous and mix it altogether. It also gave me a chance to finally show off the wonderful serving plate that I bought from a lovely little kitchen store while on holidays in May. 

Chorizo, Haloumi & Roasted Vegetables with Pearl Couscous

Ingredients:

• 1 chorizo, chopped 
• 1/2 red capsicum, roughly chopped 
• small red onion, cut into wedges
• 1/4 eggplant, roughly chopped
• 1 small sweet potato, roughly chopped
• half a punnet of cherry tomatoes
• 150 g haloumi, diced
• handful of olives, 
• 1/2 c pearl couscous 
• 1 c chicken stock (3/4 c might have been better)
• handful of torn baby spinach leaves 
• handful of basil leaves, shredded

Method: 

• Pre-heat oven to 180 C
• Place chorizo, capsicum, onion, eggplant, sweet potato and cherry tomatoes on a tray. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Add olives and haloumi and roast for a further 5 - 10 minutes or until everything is cooked. 
• Meanwhile cook pearl couscous in the stock until it has been absorbed. Drain if necessary. 
• Combine couscous, roasted veg, chorizo and haloumi with spinach and basil leaves. Serve immediately. 

November 2005 - Chive & Beetroot Couscous

Oops, I just realised how close to the end of the month it is and I still have a bunch of posts to get done. I seem to keep putting them off. I guess because I had made a recipe from each issue, except 2010, within the first 10 days of the month and I was making sure that I didn't post them all really quickly and now here I am having to stuff them all into the end of the month again...doh. 

The first recipe that really caught my eye was Rick Stein's Calamari & Chorizo salad with garlic & chickpeas. Now I have admitted several times on here that I am not the biggest seafood fan but this recipe really appealed. I have eaten and enjoyed calamari in the past, and not just the crumbed and deep-fried stuff from the fish & chip shop, lovely fresh stuff cooked properly. I always seem to forget when the seafood truck comes to town and I really didn't want to make this with calamari from the supermarket so I decided I would leave this one until I was able to pick up some nice stuff. I am sure that it will be very good when I do eventually make it. 

I then looked at making either of Valli's Stir-fry Chicken with Pesto or Chef's Salad which were part of the Tuesday Night Cooking section of this issue. Both are quick easy recipes. The stir-fry being full of flavour with the pesto and vegetables, although I wasn't too keen on the cream in it. The chef's salad would have been a good light meal for a hot, lazy night. However, those hot, lazy, don't-want-to-cook nights have been few and far between so far which is very unusual for this time of year and when making the final decision on what to make from this issue I was actually looking for a side dish, which neither of these recipes are so I moved on to something else. 

I was actually looking for a side dish to go along side a recipe from another issue and I chose Jill Dupleix's Chive & Beetroot couscous. This is a fantastic side dish which I will make over and over again. I could also be changed up using a variety of different herbs, I think that dill would work well in it with the chives and perhaps some parsley. I just love beetroot and the couscous just soaked up the fabulous colour of the beetroot. I had planned on making this to go with a lamb dish, but lamb was way too expensive when I went to buy it so I served it with curried honey chicken. It went together okay but it would have been better paired with the lamb. 

Chive & Beetroot Couscous

Serves 4 as a salad

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (300g) couscous
• 300 ml boiling vegetable stock (or boiling water) 
• 1 large (250g) cooked beetroot, finely diced 
• 1 tomato, finely diced
• 3 bunches chives, snipped
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 100g soft goat's cheese

Method: 

• Combine couscous & boiling stock in a bowl and cover and let cool. 
• Whisk together oil and lemon juice and season to taste. 
• Combine couscous, beetroot, tomato, chives and pour over dressing and toss to combine. 
• Let sit for at least 30 minutes so that the couscous will take on the colour. 
• Serve topped with goat's cheese & chives.

January 2009 - Chorizo-stuffed Chicken with Couscous

So onto the penultimate magazine for January. I have so enjoyed not only the discovery of some great new recipes that I had previously overlooked but reading through the magazines. I have read a lot of articles that I have either forgotten or just didn't get around to reading the first time. Once you really sit down with delicious. there is a lot of reading in it.

Issue 78 again presented a large number of choices although in reality there was really no option but to make Tobie Puttock's Chorizo-stuffed Chicken with couscous. I don't often do a roast for just me as most of the time I find that small roasting pieces are not as nice as larger roasting pieces. I also find that smaller chickens can be a bit dry. At least this has been my experience, perhaps though I have a tendency to over-cook, sometimes it is hard to remember that while it is a roast it is smaller and will take less time to cook. I believe that the slices of chorizo help to keep the breast (my favoured part) from drying out and impart a subtle flavour into the meat. I didn't have the best quality chorizo unfortunately but it was still a decent one. I would recommend using the best that you can get though as I think that it would impart more flavour. I ended up making some gravy from the pan drippings. The chorizo flavour in that was magnificent.

Chorizo-stuffed Chicken with Couscous

Serves 2

Ingredients

• Small (1.2 kg) free-range chicken (mine was 1.3 kg)
• 1 chorizo sausage, thinly sliced
• 1/2 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 lemon
• 6 thyme sprigs
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• Creme fraiche, to serve (optional) (I didn't use it)

Couscous

• 3/4 cup (150g) couscous
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 3/4 cup (185 ml) boiling chicken stock
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp sultanas (I didn't use)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 C.
  
• Gently work your fingers between chicken skin and breast, being careful not to tear. Carefully stuff chorizo under skin in 1 layer (you may not need all the chorizo). Place onion, garlic, lemon and thyme in cavity. Tie legs with string, rub with oil and season.
  
• Place on a rack in a roasting plan. Roast 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting occasionally, until cooked through - juices will run clear when thigh is pierced. (Cover with foil if over-browning.)
• Remove string and carefully turn bird upside-down on a board (to keep breast from drying out). Rest 5 minutes.
  
• Meanwhile, mix couscous and oil in a bowl with hot stock. Cover and stand for 5 minutes, then fluff grains with a fork, stir in remaining ingredients and season. (I am not keen on raw onion and garlic so cooked them before adding.)
• Carve chicken, drizzle with pan juices and creme fraiche if using, garnish with extra parsley and serve with couscous.