Tag Archives: easy

White Chocolate & Macadamia Blondies

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It was a perfect summer afternoon in Canberra, with clear blue skies and a light breeze. About 30 ladies sat in the garden of the New Zealand High Commission chatting and enjoying a delicious afternoon tea. We had gathered to say goodbye to a couple of very good Kiwi friends.

A beautiful young kookaburra sat on a low branch of a nearby tree, calmly watching proceedings. I’m not an expert on native birds, but apparently our feathered friend was female, so she probably thought she was invited. We later discovered that she was waiting for our hostess to feed her some minced beef, which she did just before the last guests departed.

Afternoon tea used to be a standard affair. Now it’s a real treat. The party began at 2pm so I decided to skip lunch and was glad I had done so. When everything looks so delicious it’s tempting to try everything. I didn’t, quite, but I did try quite a few things. My favourite cakes were the White Chocolate and Macadamia Blondies which had come from the Kiwi Kitchen in Fyshwick.

I decided to try and replicate them and spent half an hour reading through various Brownie and Blondie recipes on Google. A Blondie by the way is a Brownie, without the ingredients which make it dark. I was pretty sure one of the ingredients was condensed milk, but couldn’t find any recipes for Blondies using that ingredient. I did, however, find one for Brownies which used it. So here is the result of combining three recipes. Not quite the same as the original version, but close. A delicious cake which will appeal to the sweet tooth brigade. Serve as a cake or warm as a dessert, with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

White Chocolate & Macadamia Blondies

150g unsalted butter
1 can condensed milk
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
1 cup white chocolate chips/melts
1 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line a 9″ (22cm) square cake tin with baking paper. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and melt in the microwave. Add remaining ingredients one by one, in the order they are listed. A good way to crush the nuts without making them too fine is to press each one with the back of a large knife, the way you crush garlic. When thoroughly mixed, scrape mixture into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 25-30 mins. The top should be golden brown, but the middle of the cake should still be quite soft when you take it out. It will firm up when cold.

Cool then cut into squares and dust with icing sugar.

Makes 20-25 squares

Note: anyone with an allergy to nuts could use oats instead of macadamias.

Pea & Ham Soup

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David and Amy brought a delicious glazed ham to our Christmas celebrations. When we finished it I froze the bone and today, in early March when the weather is much cooler, I’m using it in a good old-fashioned Pea and Ham soup. Growing up under the influence of my mother’s “war mentality” makes it hard for me to throw away anything which could be turned into a meal.

This soup will “warm the cockles of your heart”. Having typed that I thought “what a strange expression” and decided to look it up.

One site which explains such expressions says: Something that warms the cockles of one’s heart induces a glow of pleasure, sympathy, affection, or some such similar emotion. What gets warmed is the innermost part of one’s being. The Oxford Dictionary simply says it means to give one a comforting feeling of contentment. 

There are all sorts of theories as to the origins of this saying, the most popular being that the ventricles of the heart are shaped like cockles, a popular shellfish when I was growing up in England. We used to buy them doused with malt vinegar at seaside resorts on the south coast, such as Margate and Ramsgate. It took an hour to get there by train, but in summer we often went to the coast for two weeks and stayed in a bungalow or caravan in Leysdown or Seasalter.

As kids we thought a trip to the seaside was heaven. There was candy floss and pink and white striped sticks of candy which was called rock – an appropriate name as you just about broke your teeth eating it. And there were amusement parks, where you could scare yourself to death on the roller coaster or win a hideous pink teddy bear on the shooting range. The water was always freezing but we swam anyway and came home with sand stuck to everything. Happy days.

I was never very fond of cockles or whelks (sea snails) preferring the juicy pink shrimps also sold on the seafood stalls. An even smaller shellfish called a winkle had a tiny body which had to be removed from its shell with a pin – a tedious task, which is probably why I didn’t like them. My mother loved them. Sometimes we took some home and she ate them for tea, with brown bread and butter.

I am pleased that the “war mentality” gene has been passed on to our three offspring and their partners who also run households with my mother’s motto “waste not want not.”

Pea & Ham Soup1 cup yellow split peas
1 ham bone (see note below)
About 2 litres chicken stock, preferably home made
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 clove garlic crushed
1 tsp dried thyme or 1 Tbs fresh
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley, coriander or thyme

Wash peas and soak overnight or for several hours in cold water, then drain. Put peas and stock in large pan with ham bone and simmer 2 hrs with a lid. Add vegetables, herbs and simmer for half an hour. Remove ham bone and cut off any meat. Cut it into small pieces and put it back into the soup. Add more water if soup has become too thick and check seasoning. Reheat soup and serve topped with chopped fresh herbs and some crusty bread.

Serves 6-8

Note: if you don’t have a ham bone, most supermarkets sell ham hocks or meaty bacon bones which can be used instead.

Barley & Quinoa with Roasted Pumpkin & Mushrooms

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Once or twice a fortnight we like to have a vegetarian dinner.  Matthew has always been a big fan of barley and I recently bought some quinoa, so I thought I would make a vegetarian dish combining these two grains. The result was delicious.

Quinoa (pronounced kin-wah) originated in the Andean regions of Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, where it has been an important staple for 3-4000 years. It’s a grain-like crop, but not a member of the grass family, being more closely related to beets and spinach. The recent popularity of quinoa is due to the fact that it’s gluten-free and easy to digest. It’s also high in protein (14%), magnesium, iron and calcium. There has been some controversy of late over the high price the locals are having to pay for quinoa in South America, the price having gone through the roof due to increased exports.

I know that some of my readers don’t eat meat, so this is one for you.

Barley & Quinoa with Pumpkin & Mushrooms

¾ cup quinoa
¾ cup barley
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
½ cup pine nuts or coarsely chopped cashew nuts, lightly toasted
Chopped fresh parsley or coriander
Pumpkin mix:
5-600g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 2-3cm cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbs fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried
½ tsp each cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
Mushroom mix:
500g mixed mushrooms (see note below)
2 Tbs fresh thyme  or 2 tsp dried
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil

Cook quinoa and barley separately in boiling salted water to cover. The barley will take about 40 mins and the quinoa about 10. Add more boiling water as necessary so they don’t boil dry. Don’t overcook – they should both be “al dente”. Rinse and thoroughly drain the grains and place in a bowl.

While grains cook preheat oven to 180C. Mix pumpkin with remaining ingredients. Line an oven tray with baking paper and spread pumpkin mixture over it. Bake for 30 mins at 180 or until cooked and edges start darkening. Clean mushrooms if necessary, tear or cut up and mix with remaining ingredients. Line another oven tray with baking paper and spread mushroom mixture over it.  Bake for 8-10 mins on the shelf under the pumpkin.

Add pumpkin and mushroom mixtures, including any oil and juices, to the cooked grains. Add vinegar, mix gently and check to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Tip into a serving dish or individual bowls. Serve lukewarm or cold, garnished with the toasted nuts and chopped herbs.

Serves 4-6

Note: for the mushroom mix I used 150g of Shimeji, 100g of Enoki (both torn apart) and 250g of button mushrooms (wiped and thickly sliced) – all from Woolworths supermarket. If you can’t find fancy mushrooms use all button mushrooms.

Variation: use brown rice instead of barley.

Figs with Smoked Salmon

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From Paris a rural drive incorporating a few villages, a château and a good lunch is a delightful way to spend a Sunday in early summer. Or any time of year for that matter. Our friends Lynne and Brian were visiting from Australia and staying with us at the Embassy complex. We booked a table for lunch at La Vanne Rouge in Montigny-sur-Loing, about an hour’s drive from Paris. After a pleasant drive via the Château de Fontainebleau we arrived in the small village of Montigny-sur-Loing. Lynne, Brian and I went to find the restaurant while Matthew parked the car.

The restaurant appeared to be set up for summer in the courtyard, accessed through high timber double gates. There didn’t appear to be any other way in. The gates were locked so I rang the bell and we waited. After a few minutes I rang again. No response. Through the keyhole I could just make out a few tables, but I couldn’t see any staff in order to draw their attention. We had been waiting for more than 10 minutes when Matthew arrived to find me jumping up and down in an effort to be seen by someone inside. I rang the bell again, this time long and hard.

Suddenly the gate was opened by a tiny elderly lady dressed in black, her hair pulled back into a severe bun. Madame looked us over and demanded to know what we wanted. I explained that we had booked a table for one o’clock and apologised for being 15 minutes late, adding by way of explanation that we had been waiting for more than 10 minutes and had rung the bell several times. “That’s impossible. There’s no need to tell lies” she barked back at me. Then in the same cross tone she shouted across the courtyard to a young waiter “Did you take a booking for these people at one?” Fortunately he confirmed that he had. We were getting pretty hungry by this stage and finding somewhere to have a good Sunday lunch in France without a booking is virtually impossible. We know, we’ve tried.

“Follow me” said our unfriendly hostess. And so we did, feeling like four naughty school children. “Sit here” she said, pointing to a table with nothing on it. Madame proceeded to set the table, plonking everything down noisily and glaring at us all the time. “Is this normal?” whispered Lynne, as we sat in silence like stunned rabbits while Madame finished the table. “Um not really, but it does seem to happen more in France than in Australia” I replied when Madame was out of earshot.

The meal arrived and it was excellent. My starter of figs with smoked salmon was so delicious I have been making my own version ever since. Whoever would have thought that figs go so beautifully with smoked salmon? Their chef had made the smoked salmon into a nest in the middle and cut some of the figs into small dice to scatter around the plate. And their salad leaves were very small delicate mesclun, so it all looked very snazzy. My version as you can see is far less glamorous, but not bad for a quick lunch.

Once the food arrived we relaxed and started to enjoy ourselves. As we were eating, Madame’s three-legged dog appeared and I made a fuss of him. That was it, her attitude changed completely and we were friends for life.

Figs with Smoked Salmon

4 cups small mixed salad leaves
Walnut oil
White balsamic vinegar
4 fresh figs, sliced
6 slices smoked salmon, cut into ribbons
1/3 cup pine nuts (see note below), lightly toasted

Dress salad leaves with a little oil and vinegar then arrange on two plates. Arrange smoked salmon and figs over the salad, sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and drizzle with a little more walnut oil.

Serves 2

Note: Having made a whole heap of pesto last weekend I had run out of pine nuts so I used chopped cashews which were okay but not quite as good. If you haven’t got walnut oil use olive oil.

Crispy Fish with Mango & Avocado Salsa

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This recipe appeared in Delicious magazine as a filling for tortillas. We found it was nicer without the tortillas. The fish sticks are rather like fish fingers for grown ups. The recipe is easy to halve and if you don’t have a deep fat fryer you can cook the fish in the oven or in a frying pan.

Crispy Fish with Mango & Avocado Salsa

500-600g firm white fish fillets (I used Hoki)
1/3 cup plain flour
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika, preferably smoked
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
About 2 cups packaged dry breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil for frying
4 cups mixed small salad leaves
Salad dressing
Thick Greek yoghurt (optional)
A few slivers of fresh chilli
Salsa:
1 avocado, diced
1 mango, diced
½ red onion, finely chopped
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander
Juice of 1 lime or ½ lemon
salt to taste

Make salsa by mixing all ingredients together.  Cut fish into strips 1-2cm wide and 8cm long. You should have about 12 which is 3 per serving. Place flour, cumin, paprika and seasoning in one bowl, beaten eggs in another and breadcrumbs in a third. Coat fish in flour, then beaten egg, then breadcrumbs, patting on firmly. Chill for 15 minutes.  Either cook the fish in deep fat oil in 2-3 batches for 4-5 mins or till cooked and crispy, then drain on paper towels. Or place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, spray both sides with oil and bake in a hot oven at 200°C for 10-12 mins or until crisp and browned. Or pan fry. The ones in the photo were deep fried and got a little bit too brown.

Mix salad with a little dressing and divide between four plates. Arrange fish pieces on top, then spoon over some salsa. If liked garnish with a dollop of yoghurt and a few slivers of fresh chilli.

Serves 4

Mum’s Kedgeree

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Kedgeree was a popular Anglo-Indian breakfast dish in Victorian England, introduced by army officer’s wives returning from India. The main ingredients are rice, fish and eggs. Some versions add curry paste and other ingredients, but when we were growing up my mother made a very simple kedgeree which I still make.

Before I married I lived in a little bed-sit in Geneva which only had two hotplates and no oven. I could get home from work, absolutely starving and have a bowl of kedgeree ready in 20 minutes.

Filling and satisfying, for me it’s pure comfort food. It’s easy to eat with a fork in front of the TV with a glass of chilled white wine. The perfect dish for a quiet evening at home when you don’t want to spend much time cooking and don’t feel like anything heavy or spicy. You can use smoked fish or canned salmon or tuna instead of the prawns. But for me the prawns really make the dish, so I always keep some handy in the freezer.

The second kedgeree recipe uses the same basic ingredients of rice, fish and eggs, but is more complicated and spicy. Equally nice, just totally different.

1 cup long-grain rice (such as basmati or jasmine)photo
2-3 eggs
250-300g peeled cooked prawns
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
25g butter, cut into small pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley or coriander

Put the rice on to boil and the eggs on to hard boil. I have been known to throw them all in the same pan, for speed! When cooked drain rice thoroughly and place in a warm serving bowl. Add butter and stir till melted. Then add the eggs, peeled and roughly cut up, the spring onions, prawns and season to taste. Serve immediately sprinkled with chopped herbs.

Serves 2

Asian Kedgeree

Asian Kedgeree1 cup long grain rice (such as basmati or jasmine), cooked
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1-2 tsp grated ginger
½ small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 tsp brown sugar
100g smoked trout, flaked
½ cup canned corn, drained
About 1 Tbs fish sauce – to taste
Scrambled egg topping:
1 Tbs vegetable oil
2-4 tsp curry paste or powder, to taste
2 tsp brown sugar
½ small red chilli, finely chopped
2-3 tsp tamarind paste, to taste
2-3 tsp fish sauce, to taste
2 eggs, beaten
To serve:
1 small Lebanese cucumber, peeled and cut into ribbons (discard seeds)
2 Tbs cashew nuts or peanuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
Chopped fresh coriander and lime wedges

Make scrambled eggs first. Heat oil in a small frying pan and cook curry paste for a minute, stirring. Add sugar, chilli and tamarind paste and cook for 1-2 mins. Add egg and cook until lightly scrambled. Lastly add fish sauce to taste and remove from heat.

Heat oil in a large frying pan and cook spring onions, ginger, garlic and chilli stirring for 1-2 mins. Add rice, sugar, trout and corn. Cook for 1-2 mins or until heated through then add fish sauce to taste. Divide kedgeree between two serving bowls, top with the scrambled egg and garnish with cucumber, nuts, lime wedges and coriander.

Serves 2

Variations: use frozen corn or peas instead of canned corn. Cook in boiling water for a few minutes then drain. Use smoked salmon, canned salmon or tuna instead of the smoked trout.

Note: if you can’t find tamarind paste add a good squeeze of lemon or lime juice instead.

Staples Special

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Major and Mrs H.W. Staples, and their four children - Pat, Edwin, Margaret and Daphne outside their home, Dragona, shortly after their arrival on Malta in January 1939.

Major and Mrs H.W. Staples and their five children – Patrick, Edwin, Margaret, Daphne and Joan outside their home, Dragona, shortly after their arrival in Malta in January 1939.

My grandfather, Herbert William Staples, was posted to Malta from the UK in January 1939 with the Royal Engineers. When War broke out later that year he was offered the chance to leave with his wife and five children, aged between 10 and 14. But leaving by ship was risky, with many being bombed and sunk, so they opted to stay. My mother Margaret was almost 10 at the time and spent the next 6 years on the island with her younger twin sisters Joan and Daphne and two older brothers, Patrick and Edwin. At the end of the War she received a medal for never having missed a day of school, despite periods of heavy bombing when she had to get there via air raid shelters.

More bombs fell on this little island of just 121 square miles than fell on London during the Blitz. The Germans wanted to capture it for strategic reasons, due to its proximity to Axis shipping lanes. But they didn’t succeed and at the end of the War Malta was awarded the George Cross for bravery.

Feeding a family of seven was a constant challenge for my Irish grandmother Hilda Mary. Strict rationing allowed just one slice of bread per person per day. My mother remembers her brothers asking if they could have another slice and my grandmother giving them hers, half each. Nana Staples was skin and bone at the end of the War, but she made up for it afterwards! There were no cattle on the island, which meant no dairy industry. Sometimes the Quartermaster would issue a few cans of food to each British family. My mother still likes tinned peaches served with evaporated milk, for nostalgic reasons. While onions and tomatoes were easy to grow and Mediterranean fruit such as figs, grapes and pomegranates were plentiful in season, food-wise life was tough.

My Uncle Pat was a very good diver and could hold his breath for a long time. One day he heard that a ship had been sunk in the bay so he dived down and inside the wreck he found a whole cheddar cheese, weighing about 10 kilos. He wrapped it in his towel and staggered home, triumphant. My grandmother was thrilled and as she had tomatoes and onions in the garden she invented Staples Special with what she had available.

Home grown tomatoes

Fortunately I’ve never known what it is to go hungry or be unable to buy enough food for my family. But I still make Staples Special because it’s so delicious and makes a perfect Saturday lunch or Sunday evening supper. It’s important to use vine-ripened tomatoes from the garden or local market. Those tasteless ones you buy in supermarkets during winter just won’t work in this recipe. The same goes for the toast – the better the bread, the better the toast.

My Dad was a nurseryman and for many years his main crop was tomatoes, grown under glass in Kent, in south-east England. All my tomato-growing knowledge came from him and I think he would be proud of this year’s crop from our Canberra garden. To be honest Matthew does all the work, but I do cook the produce. One cardinal rule I learnt from my Dad and that’s never, ever store tomatoes in the fridge.

1 large onion, halved and slicedStaples Special
2 Tbs olive oil
500-600g ripe tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
1 tsp sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
6 large slices buttered toast (Turkish bread is nice)
Basil leaves, torn up (optional)

Heat oil in a large frying pan and cook onion, stirring, over moderate heat, until soft but not brown. Add tomatoes and continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring. Tomatoes should be semi-cooked and still chunky. Add sugar and season to taste. Add cheese and when just melted serve on toast garnished with basil.

Serves 4

Sweet Potato Soup with Buttered Cashews

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When I was growing up in England we had swedes, parsnips and turnips, but I never saw sweet potatoes or pumpkin. So I didn’t try either of these vegetables until I married and moved to Australia in 1975. I quickly became a big fan of both – in soups, roasted, mashed – I love their sweet earthy flavours and satisfying textures.

February is usually the hottest month in Canberra, but this year we have had some cool, wet days. And this weekend, the first in March, is positively autumnal. After several months of salads a bowl of soup goes down well for lunch on a cool day, with a slice or two of toast.

I made this soup with sweet potato, but pumpkin would work equally well. Two year old granddaughter Natalia, who had hers without the toppings, had fun finding the chick peas which she called “chippies”.

Sweet Potato Soup with Buttered Cashews

25g butter
2 large onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 kg sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup white wine
4 cups (1 litre) vegetable stock
About 2 cups milk
1 can chickpeas, drained
Hot pepper sauce (see note below)
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
To serve:
Sour cream or thick plain yoghurt
¾ cup unsalted cashew nuts
small piece of butter
2-3 Tbs chopped fresh oregano, marjoram or coriander
Hot pepper sauce (see note below)

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and cook gently, stirring from time to time, until soft but not brown. Add sweet potato, wine and stock and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender. Meanwhile heat a small piece of butter in a small frying pan and cook the cashew nuts, stirring, until browned.

Blend soup in a blender until smooth, adding enough milk to make desired consistency. Put soup back into a saucepan with the chickpeas and ginger, adding hot pepper sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Reheat soup and serve in soup bowls garnished with a dollop of sour cream, some cashews, chopped herbs and a drizzle of hot pepper sauce.

Serves 6

Variations: use pumpkin instead of sweet potato; pecan nuts instead of cashews.

Note: If you can find a smoky hot pepper sauce such as Montezuma’s Smoky Chipotle sauce, this is ideal. Have a look in the Mexican food section of your supermarket and see what they have. If you can’t find a smoky one use Tabasco or Peri Peri sauce.

Rare Roast Beef with Blue Cheese Dressing & Zucchini Bake

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A rare roast fillet of beef is handy to have in the fridge in summer. It lasts several days and makes life easy when you have guests staying and limited time to cook, or during a heatwave. It’s expensive, but a little goes a long way.

I’m not a big fan of strong blue cheeses, preferring the milder creamier versions. But toned down a bit with yoghurt and vinegar this Blue Cheese Dressing is delicious with salads – especially crunchy cos lettuce –  steaks and dolloped onto baked potatoes.

While this zucchini (courgette) dish goes well with the beef it’s also nice on it’s own as a vegetarian dish. As you can see from the photo, the zucchini I used were rather larger than those you buy in the shops. Unfortunately that’s what happens when you grow your own. One day you look and they’re not quite ready to pick. You go back a day or so later and they’re huge!

Rare Roast Fillet of Beef

1 fillet beef weighing 1.8 – 2.2kg
salt and freshly ground black pepperphoto
olive oil

Preheat oven to 200°C. Trim meat of any excess fat and sinews. Place in a baking dish, drizzle with oil and season. Bake for 25-40 minutes depending on weight of fillet. A meat thermometer is useful for deciding when to take the meat out. Cool then refrigerate, covered. Serve thinly sliced with the Blue Cheese Dressing.

Blue Cheese Dressing

100g blue cheese
2 heaped Tbs plain yoghurt
1-2 Tbs white Balsamic vinegar, to taste
1 tsp sugar

Place all ingredients in food processor and mix, adding a little water to give a pouring consistency. Keeps for a week in a jar with a lid in the fridge. Shake before using.

Zucchini Bake

Zucchini Bake750g zucchinis, thinly sliced
30g butter
1-2 Tbs olive oil
Sauce:
25g butter
25g flour
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup breadcrumbs (about a slice of bread whizzed in food processor)

Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat half the butter and oil in a large frying pan. Sauté zucchini slices until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Heat remaining oil and butter and fry the rest of the zucchini. Make sauce – heat butter in small pan, add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring, gradually add milk, then lastly cheese and seasoning. Remove from heat and mix in the egg. Fold in the cooked zucchini, tip into a buttered shallow ovenproof dish (about the size of a quiche dish) which has been sprinkled with breadcrumbs. Top with remaining breadcrumbs and bake 30 minutes until brown and bubbling.

Serves 6 as a side dish or 3-4 as a vegetarian main

Salmon with Couscous and Cherry Tomatoes

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Instant or quick-cook couscous is ready in a jiffy and so is salmon, so I often team them up for a week-day dinner. With cherry tomatoes and lemons in the garden I came up with this tasty combination which you can have on the table in 15 minutes.

Any leftover couscous mixture makes the basis of a tasty salad for lunch the following day. Just add any of the following – cubed leftover chicken or other cooked meat, tomatoes, cucumber, feta cheese, canned corn, herbs, onion and a dollop of mayonnaise, French dressing or pesto. To stretch if even further, serve on a bed of salad greens and voila, lunch is served. As I write this blog I am eating my leftover couscous salad. I added leftover roast chicken, a diced perfectly ripe nectarine, some cucumber, a teaspoon of curry paste and a dollop of mayonnaise. Delicious.

Salmon with Couscous and Cherry Tomatoes

1 cup couscous
1 cup water
2-4 tsp grated ginger
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 salmon fillets weighing 180-200g (with or without skin, as you prefer)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbs olive oil
Juice and zest of half a lemon
200g cherry tomatoes, halved
2 spring onions, finely sliced or ½ red onion, finely diced
½ cup chopped coriander
½  to 1 birds eye chilli, to taste, seeded and finely diced

Heat water in a saucepan and when it boils add couscous, stir then cover and turn off heat. Leave to stand while you cook the salmon. Place salmon in a dish with half the oil, garlic, half the lemon zest and juice. Season to taste and turn to coat. Pan fry salmon in a non-stick frying pan over moderate to high heat for 3-4 minutes each side, or until done to liking. There is no need to add additional oil as there is some in the marinade. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and add the ginger, tomatoes, onion, coriander, chilli, remaining zest, juice and oil. Season to taste and add any juices from cooking the salmon. Serve salmon on a bed of couscous garnished with more coriander. The couscous will be warm not hot.

Serves 2