Couscous and sweet potato salad

So I thought it was time I posted a recipe that wasn’t cake!

It has finally warmed up in Melbourne, which means salad is a perfect option for a warm balmy night!

I made this recipe up as I went, just using what I had in the fridge.  You can easily substitute sweet potato for pumpkin and swap or leave out any of the vegetables I have used.  It might also be nice with a half a red onion finely diced through it.  You could have less couscous and more spinach if you like and it would be delicious with grilled zucchini too! Anyway, below is what I used and how I made mine.  It is really easy and quite a fast dish to prepare.

What you need

1 cup couscous

olive oil

1 handful of currants

cumin

turmeric

1 sweet potato

1 small head of broccoli

1 handful of string beans

1 handful of parsley, chopped

1 handful of sliced almonds

1 tin of sweet corn

1 handful of baby spinach

1 lemon

salt and pepper

How to make it

I started with a sweet potato.  Peeled and chopped into small square pieces.  I pre-cooked this by steaming it until just soft (approximately 15 minutes) and then put it in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper.  If you have more time you can cook it in the oven without part cooking it, but it will take at least an hour.

While the sweet potato is cooking, you can prepare the other ingredients.  I used a small broccoli, chopped and steamed and a handful of string beans, chopped and steamed.  These can be steamed together and when cooked, set aside to cool.

To make the couscous I just drizzled olive oil over a cup of couscous, added salt and pepper, a sprinkle of turmeric and the same of cumin.  Pour a cup of boiling water on it and set aside until the couscous absorbs all of the water (I always refer to the instructions on the box but for couscous it is equal parts water to couscous).  I usually cover mine with a tea towel while it is absorbing the water.  Leave for about 5 minutes and then stir/fluff-up with a fork.  I also added a good handful of currants and stirred these in. 

When the sweet potato is almost cooked (you just want it to start getting a bit of crispy-ness) you might like to sprinkle some pine nuts or sliced almonds over it and let these cook for about 5 minutes while the sweet potato finishes cooking.

When everything is ready and cooled, mix it all together. I added some sweet corn and a handful of raw baby spinach (because I love sweet corn and I had a little spinach in the fridge).

You could store the salad in the fridge covered until you are ready to serve it. 

Before you serve the salad, drizzle it with olive oil and the juice of one lemon and garnish with fresh parsley and cracked pepper.  Serve with plain Greek yoghurt and avocado if you like.  Enjoy!!

This is a great salad for lunches, on its own or as an accompaniment.  This recipe made quite a bit and I would say, if serving as a meal on its own it would easily serve 4 – 5 people.

RASPBERRY & VANILLA COCONUT ICE

I made this and gave it to friends for Christmas.  It was a pretty treat to make and share and although I have made coconut ice before, it made a real difference to the flavour adding the raspberries!  

It would be great for a party or baby shower too!  It is quite sweet so I would suggest cutting the pieces into bite size… see what you think though! 

Oh and this is a Donna Hay recipe, taken from the December 2013 edition of Donna Hay Magazine.

What you need

1.28kg icing sugar (I told you it was sweet!)

6 cups (480g) desiccated coconut

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

1½ cups (460g) sweetened condensed milk (I recommend adding about ¼ cup extra to the vanilla mix so maybe have 1¾ cups at hand)

1 cup (140g) frozen raspberries, thawed

a few drops of red food colouring

How to make it

Lightly grease and/or line a slice tray with baking paper (20cm x 30cm x 3.5cm).

Place half of the sugar, half of the coconut and the vanilla in a large bowl.  Add 1¼ cups (I recommend adding 1½ cups) of the sweetened condensed milk and mix well to combine.  The mixture will be quite compact.  

Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface (or you can turn it onto a piece of baking paper).  Knead until smooth.  Press evenly into the base of the prepared slice tray.

Place the remaining sugar and coconut in a large bowl.  Add the raspberries and food colouring and, using your fingers, rub the mixture until the raspberries are well combined.  Add the remaining sweetened condensed milk and mix to combine.  You will notice this raspberry mixture is quite a bit more sticky than the vanilla mixture.  Don’t worry though!

The recipe says to turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and knead until combined.  I just did this in the bowl as I was worried about the food colouring on the bench!  When combined, press the raspberry mixture into the slice tin on top of the vanilla mixture.  Smooth it out until it is evenly covering the vanilla layer.

Cover with glad wrap (cling film) and refrigerate for 3 – 4 hours or overnight.  

When you are ready to cut it, simply turn the slice out onto a bread board and cut it into squares.

    

Meringue Mushrooms

It took me two attempts to get these little meringue mushrooms right, but I am glad that I persisted because they absolutely completed the presentation of my Buche de Noel cake.  You can serve these sweet treats on their own if you like (without the cake); they look so realistic and people haven’t always seen them before so it is a bit of a talking point!

I would recommend watching Chow’s You Tube clip to see how to actually pipe the meringue.  I found it very helpful!  Allow yourself at least 3 ½ - 4 hours to make the meringues (around 3 hours of this time is when they are in the oven).  The assembly takes around half an hour in addition to this.

What you need

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

50gms chocolate (you can use whatever you like, but I used dark chocolate because I was using it for the bark decoration on my cake)

How to make them

Heat the oven to 100°C and arrange the racks to divide the oven into thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper or aluminum foil; set aside.

Place the egg whites and cream of tartar in a clean, dry and use an electric mixer to on medium speed to start to whisk the egg whites.  Make sure there is no egg yolk or shell in the whites (I recommend separating them in different bowls to the one you are using to mix them).

Increase the speed to high, gradually add 1/2 cup of the sugar about a tablespoon at a time, and continue to mix until stiff peaks form.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Transfer the meringue to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip.  I recommend using a large tip.  You can buy disposable piping bags from the supermarket and they have 5 tips in the box.  

I used the largest tip from that box even though I have a lovely piping bag set!  I also recommend setting up your pastry bag in a tall glass to fill it so it is easier to fill (you are not actually holding it when you fill it).  Don’t over fill your bag and twist the top of it closed before you start the next step.

Start by piping the stems of the mushrooms by piping half of the meringue into pointed “kisses” about 1 inch high to make the stems on one of the prepared baking sheets. (Don’t worry if the tips bend over or sag.)

Then, to make the caps, pipe the remaining meringue into domes to make mushroom caps on the second baking sheet (make sure you have an equal number of stems and caps).  I would also suggest making a few additional stems in case some of them fall over!

Place the cocoa powder in a fine-mesh strainer (I used a tea strainer) and lightly dust it over the stems and caps. Fan or blow on the cocoa powder vigorously to blur it and give the mushrooms a realistic look.

Place both baking trays in the oven and bake until the meringues are crisp and completely dry, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through (after 1 hour).  Now many recipes suggest cooking the meringues for 1 or 2 hours, but I actually left mine in for 3 hours (this was the main reason I had to make these a second time).  

When the meringues are ready they will feel dry to touch (if they are soft of sticky to touch I would leave them in a bit longer).

Remove the meringues from the over and transfer the baking paper (with all the meringues on them) to wire racks and let them cool completely. If you’re not assembling the mushrooms immediately, store the cooled caps and stems in an airtight container to prevent them from becoming moist and sticky.  I did this a couple of days before I needed them and just assembled them when I was assembling my cake.

To assemble the mushrooms, place the chocolate in a small bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (just half fill the saucepan). Stir the chocolate until it is melted and smooth.  Turn off the heat.

Use a sharp knife to cut the pointy end of the mushroom stems off, making a flat surface to the angle you want to place your mushroom cap.

Using a knife, coat the flat side of a few mushroom caps with melted chocolate. Then fix the stem to the middle of the cap.  Place the mushroom cap down (so upside down) on a flat surface. Continue with the rest of the mushrooms. Set the assembled mushrooms aside until the chocolate has hardened, the caps and stems are firmly attached, and the mushrooms have completely cooled. Store the mushrooms at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 weeks.

The tricky part of this is getting the meringues cooked so just allow the time for this... (don’t start making these at 8pm like I did… particularly if you like to be in bed before midnight!) 

Also, be patient with the beating of the whites – it does take some time to form peaks in them!