Cookbook Sundays # 7

 

If you're anything like me you have dozens of cookbooks gathering dust on your bookshelves, some of which have never even been cooked from.  Sure I spent hours browsing through them when I first bought them, marking all the recipes I was going to make with little post-it notes, and yet still those books languish in the bookcase and never make it to the kitchen.  There are others from which I have made but one recipe which was such a resounding success that I've made it over and over again, and yet somehow I've never made anything else from that book.  Sound a bit familiar?!

Take comfort - you are not alone, and now Cookbook Sundays is your opportunity to change that.  Every Sunday I'm going to share with you a recipe that I haven't made before from one of my ever expanding collection of cookbooks.  And, because I know that if you have read this far then you are guilty of this too, I'm inviting you to join in with me.  Each week my Cookbook Sundays post will have a linky for you to share something you've cooked from one of your cookbooks.

The rules for joining in are simple:

1. Your post must state the author and the title of the book your recipe has come from.
2. Your post must mention Cookbook Sundays and link back to this post.  Including the Cookbook Sundays badge is optional, but always appreciated.
3. You may submit as many entries as you like, and you may use the same cookbook as many times as you like.  Old posts are also welcome.
4. Lastly,  remember that what goes around, comes around - one of the reasons you are participating in this is because you want people to read your posts, so do the right thing and go and visit a few of the other participants - you can even "Like" your favourites. 

Now, go and dust off those cookbooks and get cooking!  Use the linky tool at the end of this post to submit your entry/entries - simply scroll down to where it says "You are next ... Click here to enter", and then follow the instructions.  The linky will be open for one week.

Lastly, if you would like to use the Cookbook Sundays badge in your post, simply copy the code in the box beside the badge below and paste it into your post.  Feel free to also use it in your sidebar if you wish.

<a href="http://couscous-consciousness.blogspot.com/p/cookbook-sundays.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa476/Susan_Busch/CookbookSundaysBadge.jpg" border="0" alt="CookbookSundays"></a>

Artichoke & Italian Sausage Risotto

You may recall that last week I brought you coffee, when I had really been planning to bring you risotto.  Since then, I was flooded with comments from so many of you saying that you still wanted to see the risotto, and as our theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs is Rice is Nice this seemed like the perfect time to share this dish.

This is another recipe from Tessa Kiros' book Falling Cloudberries, though to be honest I used her recipe more as inspiration than following it too closely.  Risotto is one of those things that I make so often that I can pretty much make it with my eyes closed.  I have my own tried and true "method" for making risotto and seldom use a recipe other than for inspiration.  So it was with this recipe - I took Tessa's idea for artichokes and Italian sausages, but departing somewhat from her method I incorporated them into my usual risotto base.  I found a great Italian sausage with plenty of fennel and little hits of chilli which brought loads of flavour to the risotto, and I used bottled char-grilled artichokes instead of the fresh artichokes Tessa used.  There are no fresh artichokes available here right now - in fact, even in the season here, they are both hard to come by and ridiculously expensive - and I have never come across frozen ones here in New Zealand either.  Bottled ones work just fine, however, and I simply put them in right at the end so that they wouldn't break up too much.

I have always loved the combination of sausage with pasta or rice, and the spiciness of these sausages with the smoky char-grilled artichokes, combined with creaminess of the rice amounted to the ultimate in comfort food.  Kim at Stirring the Pot made this last week and said it was one of her favourite Tessa Kiros recipes so far, and I would have to agree - this was definitely one of my favourites.  I urge you to try it.

Artichoke & Italian Sausage Risotto

Inspired by a recipe by Tessa Kiros from

Falling Cloudberries

Makes 3 generous servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

4x char-grilled bottled artichokes, drained & cut into quarters
3x medium sized Italian sausages

olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced
small bunch of thyme

4 generous handfuls arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine or juice of 1 lemon

3 to 4 cups vegetable stock, hot
pinch of saffron threads, infused in the hot stock

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup Parmesan, freshly grated

flaky sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Remove the casings from the sausages - just run a sharp knife down the full length of the sausage, peel off the casing and discard - it will come off very easily.  Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large skillet, set over high heat.  Add the sausages to the hot oil and using a wooden spatula break the sausages up into smallish pieces.  Cook, stirring from time to time, until the pieces of sausage are cooked through and lightly golden all over.  Remove from the pan and set aside on some paper towels to drain any excess fat.

Return the pan to the heat.  With fat that has come out of the sausages, you shouldn't need any more oil in the pan, but by all means add more if necessary - you should have about 2-3 tablespoons of oil.  Add the shallot, garlic and thyme to the pan - cooking until the shallot has softened and the garlic is fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic.  Almost as soon as you can smell the garlic it is time to add the rice to the pan.  Continue cooking the rice with the shallot and garlic, stirring constantly, until every single grain of rice is coated with the oil - it will take on a kind of translucent look around the edges and will start to "squeak".

Now is the time to add the wine or lemon juice - I used lemon juice on this occasion, which I thought worked really well with the artichokes.  Continue stirring until virtually all the wine or juice has been absorbed by the rice.  Then begin to add the stock and saffron, one ladleful at a time - stirring constantly until each ladleful has been absorbed before adding the next. The rice will swell up considerably as it absorbs the stock, and when you get to the point where you think the rice will only take one or two more additions of stock, add in the pieces of cooked sausage.  Continue adding the stock until the rice is cooked through.  Remove the pan from the heat.

Add the artichokes to the rice, along with the butter, two-thirds of the parmesan, a generous pinch of flaky sea salt, and some freshly ground black pepper.  Stir well, cover the pan, and set aside for about 5 minutes for all the flavours to infuse.  Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

Spoon the risotto into serving bowls, sprinkle over the the remaining Parmesan and serve immediately.

If you would like to get to know Tessa a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

... or check out Falling Cloudberries and many of Tessa's other great titles available from Amazon or Fishpond NZ.

         

I'm also sharing this at Cookbook Sundays, where my friends are delving into their cookbook collections and sharing some of their recipes.  Do stop by to see what they're cooking - you might even feel inspired to link up a recipe from one of your own cookbooks.

Rosy Plum Crumbles and Cookbook Sundays # 6

I've been loving hosting Cookbook Sundays over the last few weeks.  It's really had me diving into all those cookbooks that I haven't used nearly enough.  Though I seem to be going through a pad of Post-It Notes nearly every second day, tagging all the things I want to make.

High on the list of possibilities for my contribution this week were a pumpkin curry from the Wagamama Cookbook, roasted pork belly with a roasted peach salsa from Nigel Slater's Tender I, and a cherry cheesecake from Nigel Slater's Tender II.  However, when I picked up some plums at the supermarket today, the look and feel of which held such promise, but which turned out on first bite to be less than perfect, I knew that they would have to be cooked in some way to really get the best out of them, and that they would have to be the object of this week's post.

I had several plum recipes bookmarked - pies, tarts, and galettes (mmm, you know that I'm still a bit nervous about making pastry);  cakes (but who wants to make a whole cake for one person);  jams and chutneys (I didn't have a big enough quantity of plums for any of those);  ice cream (would have been a possibility, but in order to get the best results I like to leave my ice cream base to chill overnight, so not good timing for that).  But the recipe which gave me my Goldilocks moment, the one which was just right, was this recipe for Rosy Plum Crumbles from the Marie Claire, Luscious book by Michele Cranston.  These were quick and easy to make from ingredients I had in my pantry, and the great thing I love about crumble is that, with a generous blob of yoghurt, leftovers make great breakfast food.

I adjusted the recipe slightly to suit the quantity of plums that I had.  You could make this in one dish, or in individual serving dishes.  I used these two little vintage, enamel pie dishes I stumbled across recently.  If served with a generous blob of good vanilla ice cream this would be enough for four people, or on its own (with perhaps a drizzle of cream) it would give three generous servings.  I actually had this with some of my home made Christmas mince ice cream which married beautifully with the rosewater infused plums and crunchy, caramelly crumble topping.

Rosy Plum Crumbles

Adapted from a recipe by Michele Cranston from

"Marie Claire": Luscious

Serves 3-4

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

450g plums (16 oz) plums

45g (1-1/2 oz) caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon rosewater

65g (2-1/4 oz) dark Muscovado sugar

35g (1-1/4 oz) all purpose flour

25 g (1 oz) dessicated coconut

80g (2-3/4 oz) soft butter

whipped cream or yoghurt or vanilla ice cream to serve

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).

Cut the plums in half, remove the stones, and then cut into slices.  Put the slices into a bowl with the caster sugar and rosewater.  (Note - measure the rosewater carefully and don't be tempted to increase the quantity or you will end up with something that tastes like perfume.)  Mix everything together well until the plums are well coated in the sugar.  Set aside for 10 minutes.

In another bowl, mix the Muscovado sugar, flour and coconut together.  Add the butter, and rub the butter in with your fingertips, until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Stir the plums again, then put into an ovenproof dish, or individual ovenproof dishes.  Top with the crumble mixture, place dish (or dishes) on a baking tray, and bake for 30 minutes - until the topping is golden and crisp and the fruit juices are bubbling up around the sides.

Serve warm with ice cream, cream or yoghurt.

 

Earlier I mentioned Cookbook Sundays.  What is that all about, you are perhaps wondering.  Well, if you're anything like me you have dozens of cookbooks gathering dust on your bookshelves, some of which have never even been cooked from.  Sure I spent hours browsing through them when I first bought them, marking all the recipes I was going to make with little post-it notes, and yet still those books languish in the bookcase and never make it to the kitchen.  There are others from which I have made but one recipe which was such a resounding success that I've made it over and over again, and yet somehow I've never made anything else from that book.  Sound a bit familiar?!

Take comfort - you are not alone, and now Cookbook Sundays is your opportunity to change that.  Every Sunday I'm going to share with you a recipe that I haven't made before from one of my ever expanding collection of cookbooks.  And, because I know that if you have read this far then you are guilty of this too, I'm inviting you to join in with me.  Each week my Cookbook Sundays post will have a linky for you to share something you've cooked from one of your cookbooks.

The rules for joining in are simple:

1. Your post must state the author and the title of the book your recipe has come from.
2. Your post must mention Cookbook Sundays and link back to this post.  Including the Cookbook Sundays badge is optional, but always appreciated.
3. You may submit as many entries as you like, and you may use the same cookbook as many times as you like.  Old posts are also welcome.
4. Lastly,  remember that what goes around, comes around - one of the reasons you are participating in this is because you want people to read your posts, so do the right thing and go and visit a few of the other participants. 

Now, go and dust off those cookbooks and get cooking!  Use the linky tool at the end of this post to submit your entry/entries - simply scroll down to where it says "You are next ... Click here to enter", and then follow the instructions.  The linky will be open for one week.

Lastly, if you would like to use the Cookbook Sundays badge in your post, simply copy the code in the box beside the badge below and paste it into your post.  Feel free to also use it in your sidebar if you wish.

<a href="http://couscous-consciousness.blogspot.com/p/cookbook-sundays.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa476/Susan_Busch/CookbookSundaysBadge.jpg" border="0" alt="CookbookSundays"></a>

 

I am also sharing this post with Sweet New Zealand, a monthly blog event created by the very lovely Alessandra Zecchini, and which this month is hosted by the equally lovely and incredibly talented Arfi at HomeMadeS. This is an opportunity for all Kiwi bloggers (whether you are living in New Zealand or overseas), as well as for non-Kiwi bloggers living in New Zealand, to connect and share some of those sweet treats from your kitchen.  So, head on over to Arfi's and share something sweet.

Cappuccino Freddo/Coffee Granita

This was going to be a post for Risotto with Artichokes and Italian Sausage, and I'm sure you can see the connection .... oh, not so obvious?

Ok, let me explain.  This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where we are enjoying six months of cooking with Tessa Kiros, our theme is Under the Tuscan Sun.  "Excellent!!" I thought, as I had long ago bookmarked Tessa's recipe for risotto with artichokes and Italian sausage in the Italian section of her book, Falling Cloudberries, and I knew this would be the perfect occasion for making and posting it.  With me so far?

Well, I need to go back a bit.  Last week at IHCC our theme was Winter Wonderland - an opportunity to break out all those lovely wintery, comforting dishes likes soups, stews and lasagnes.  Of course, they're a pretty good group over there, and they realise that not all of us are blanketed under several inches of snow right now.  So those of us residing in warmer climes right now were directed to come up with some kind of icy treat, something that reminds us of ice and snow.

When I came across Tessa's Coffee Granita with Whipped Cream, I absolutely could not resist sharing this icy treat.  Now this is not the kind of granita that goes into the freezer, and which you scrape with a fork every so often to break it up into millions of tiny icy shards.  No, this is something much more instant - and let's face it, who of us doesn't like a little bit of instant gratification.  The kind of thing you whip up when you're gasping for a caffine fix, but don't feel like a hot drink.

This is very reminiscent of the Cappuccino Freddos which I enjoyed on a daily basis on my trips to Greece, the only difference being that a Cappuccino Freddo uses cold frothy milk on top rather than cream, but the principle is the same.

So this I thought would be the perfect treat to share for our Winter Wonderland theme.  Trouble was the week came and went and somehow, the post never got posted.  However, since this recipe appears in the Italian section of Falling Cloudberries, I thought I could share it with you this week after all.  That artichoke and sausage risotto is just going to have to wait!

Now on with the recipe.  Actually, this is really more of a method than a recipe, and I did depart a little from Tessa's method, but you do need an espresso maker of some sorts for this - whether that be an Italian-style stove top type, or something altogether more sophisticated.

• Three-quarters fill a sturdy glass with small ice cubes, or crushed ice
• If you like your coffee sweet, sprinkle sugar into the glass (I don't have sugar in my coffee, but just for the fun of it I added some vanilla syrup - courtesy of Bron Marshall's giveaway last Christmas)
• Pour a double shot of espresso over the ice
• Whip 1/2 cup cream together with 1/2 tablespoons icing sugar (this will be enough for two people), just until very soft peaks are starting to form.  I kept mine really very soft - so it was not of a "dolloping" consistency, but a bit thicker than normal pouring consistency.  Of course if you would prefer your cream to sit in a thick dollop on top of your coffee just beat it some more.

For an authentically Greek experience serve with spoon sweets on the side;  or, if you're going Italian then a biscotti or amaretti biscuits on the side would be a great accompaniment. 

If you would like to get to know Tessa a little better, then do go and visit my friends at I Heart Cooking Clubs and see what they've all cooked up ...

... or check out Falling Cloudberries and many of Tessa's other great titles available from Amazon or Fishpond NZ.

         

I'm also sharing this at Cookbook Sundays - this week's linky is open here.  There's some great entries in already - why not add yours?!

Fregola Soup with Shrimps & Chorizo and Cookbook Sundays # 5

The thing I love about cooking, as opposed to baking, is the way that you can take just about any recipe and adapt it to suit your tastes or the ingredients you have on hand without necessarily sacrificing anything in the way of the quality of the dish.  Baking on the other hand is a precise science, and disaster lurks in the wings for those novices who dare to tinker with the recipe.

Today's recipe is a great example of being able to adapt and still come up with a great dish.  I would not for a moment suggest that my adaptation is an improvement.  After all, the original came from the book Molto Italiano by Mario Batali, the orange-clogged "God" of all things Italian, and I'm pretty sure his word cannot be bettered.  Still, I like to think that my interpretation of his Fregola Soup with Clams turned out to be a pretty good dish.

So this is the way it went down.  Having half a bag of fregola languishing in my pantry, I had decided a couple of days ago that I was going to make this dish today for my contribution to this week's Cookbook Sundays.  Trouble is, I forgot to check the recipe before I went out this morning to do my shopping.  I knew I had to get clams, but not finding any available today, I opted for some shrimp which I thought would make a good substitute.  Since I keep a fairly well stocked pantry, I thought that I would have pretty much everything else necessary on hand.  Turns out I was wrong.  For starters, I didn't have a red onion, but there were a few spring onions in my vege crisper and I knew that I could get away with finely slicing just the white part of them - of course, a shallot or two would also make a reasonable substitute.  The recipe also called for some prosciutto, which was conspicuously absent from my fridge, but I did have some chorizo sausage, which was a great alternative and paired really well with the shrimp.  I was also missing some basic tomato marinara sauce, but I had some really good hot, roasted pepper sauce that I have been loving lately, so subbed that in instead.  Also, as I am only one person, I halved the original recipe (intended to serve 4 people) to create two very generous servings, which means that tomorrow night's dinner is already sorted!

All things considered, all though I changed the dish quite significantly, I was really pleased with the end result.  The earthy flavour of the saffron which comes through in the broth is both comforting and a great foil to the brininess of the shrimp - I can imagine that this would be amplified if you used clams here as they have even more of that briny quality than the shrimp.  This definitely works as comfort food, but it also has an elegance about it, and I would not hesitate to serve it to company.

Fregola Soup with Shrimps & Chorizo

Adapted from recipe by Mario Batali from

Molto Italiano

Makes 2 generous servings

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

250g (1/2 lb) fregula (see note below)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 spring onions, white part only, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

125g (4.5 oz) chorizo sausage

250g (1/2 lb) peeled shrimp

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

pinch saffron threads

1/4 cup basic marinara sauce*

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes*

(*I used a hot, roasted red pepper sauce as a substitute for both of these ingredients)

large handful flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

Note:  Fregola is the Sardegna version of couscous.  It is not that easy to find here in New Zealand, but you will come across it in gourmet specialty stores such as Mercato, Zarbo, Farro, Sabato or Nosh.  It does have a fairly hefty price tag, so if that's not in your budget you could substitute Israeli couscous (mograbieh).  Mind you, that too can be pricey, so if that is still not in your budget go and check out this post from Mika at milliemirepoix for a more budget friendly Palestinian couscous.

Set a large pan of water over high heat and bring to a rapid boil.  Salt the water very liberally, then add the fregola and cook according to the package directions - could take anywhere from 12 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, set a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the olive oil, and once the oil is hot add the chorizo sausage.  Saute until the chorizo is just starting to brown, then add the spring onions and garlic.  Continue to saute until the onion has softened and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the shrimps, wine, stock, saffron and roasted red pepper sauce.  Bring to the boil.

Drain the cooked fregola, add it to the pan, and cook until the shrimp is pink and you have reached the consistency of a soupy risotto.

Stir in the parsley and serve in warm bowls.

 

Earlier I mentioned Cookbook Sundays.  What is that all about, you are perhaps wondering.  Well, if you're anything like me you have dozens of cookbooks gathering dust on your bookshelves, some of which have never even been cooked from.  Sure I spent hours browsing through them when I first bought them, marking all the recipes I was going to make with little post-it notes, and yet still those books languish in the bookcase and never make it to the kitchen.  There are others from which I have made but one recipe which was such a resounding success that I've made it over and over again, and yet somehow I've never made anything else from that book.  Sound a bit familiar?!

Take comfort - you are not alone, and now Cookbook Sundays is your opportunity to change that.  Every Sunday I'm going to share with you a recipe that I haven't made before from one of my ever expanding collection of cookbooks.  And, because I know that if you have read this far then you are guilty of this too, I'm inviting you to join in with me.  Each week my Cookbook Sundays post will have a linky for you to share something you've cooked from one of your cookbooks.

The rules for joining in are simple:

1. Your post must state the author and the title of the book your recipe has come from.
2. Your post must mention Cookbook Sundays and link back to this post.  Including the Cookbook Sundays badge is optional, but always appreciated.
3. You may submit as many entries as you like, and you may use the same cookbook as many times as you like.  Old posts are also welcome.
4. Lastly,  remember that what goes around, comes around - one of the reasons you are participating in this is because you want people to read your posts, so do the right thing and go and visit a few of the other participants. 

Now, go and dust off those cookbooks and get cooking!  Use the linky tool at the end of this post to submit your entry/entries - simply scroll down to where it says "You are next ... Click here to enter", and then follow the instructions.  The linky will be open for one week.

Lastly, if you would like to use the Cookbook Sundays badge in your post, simply copy the code in the box beside the badge below and paste it into your post.  Feel free to also use it in your sidebar if you wish.

<a href="http://couscous-consciousness.blogspot.com/p/cookbook-sundays.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa476/Susan_Busch/CookbookSundaysBadge.jpg" border="0" alt="CookbookSundays"></a>

I'm also sharing this post at Souper (and Sammies & Salads) Sundays hosted by my lovely friend Deb, at Kahakai Kitchen, and at See Ya In the Gumbo hosted by the equally lovely Michelle, at Ms enPlace.

    

Wild Rice, Black Cherry & Goat Cheese Salad and Cookbook Sundays # 4

It's Saturday evening in my part of the world, which means that it's time to dust off another of my cookbooks and share something with you for Cookbook Sundays.  If you'd also like to scare a few moths out of some of your own seldom used cookbooks and join the fun, you'll find full details later on in this post.

It's also New Year's Eve here and, although I have no plans for partying, I still felt compelled to make something a bit special and seemingly celebratory for my dinner.  At the same time, since I've been a bit unwell this week, I wanted something that was both healthy and slightly comforting.

For healthy and comforting, one of the best places to turn in my opinion is the divine Heidi Swanson.  A couple of weeks ago I shared a recipe from her first book Super Natural Cooking;  however, I thought it was time I turned to her more recent book Super Natural Every Day.

I came across a recipe for "Whole Grain Rice Salad", which certainly sounded wholesome enough, but that seriously doesn't sound like celebration fare, now does it?  Still the picture in the book looked pretty and a read through of the ingredients convinced me that this dish could indeed be a festive dinner.  Now, really, don't you think that a dish of wild rice, studded with black cherries, toasted hazelnuts, goat cheese and tossed with a cherry vinaigrette, and which looks like this, deserves a better name than Whole Grain Rice Salad?

I did change things a bit from the original recipe.  Firstly, I used half wild rice and half brown rice, since my budget didn't run to using all wild rice.  The original recipe claimed to serve six, but since I didn't have five other people to feed, I reduced the amount of rice by half.  But as I still wanted this to be a substantial meal, and I wanted there to be leftovers, I kept all the other quantities roughly the same.  For the dressing I adjusted the ratio of vinegar to olive oil as I found it to be just a bit too, well ... vinegary.  I also added a bit of maple syrup to the dressing as I felt it need just a bit more sweetness - this of course might depend on how sweet your cherries are.  I replaced walnuts with toasted hazelnuts, just because I love them and also because I love the way shape of the hazelnuts echoes the shape of the cherries.  And, lastly, because I am ever one to gild the lily, I added some pomegranate seeds.

Wild Rice, Black Cherry & Goat Cheese Salad

(previously known as Whole Grain Rice Salad)

adapted from a recipe by Heidi Swanson from

Super Natural Every Day

Serve 2 as a substantial meal or

serve 3 as a light meal or

serve 4 as a side dish

Vegetarian

(for a vegan alternative omit the goat cheese)

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

125g (4.5 oz) wild rice

125g (4.5 oz) brown rice

3 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves

2/3 cup toasted hazelnuts

200g (7 oz) black cherries

125ml (4.2 fl oz) extra virgin olive oil

40ml (1.4 fl oz) white balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)

flaky sea salt

handful of crumbled goat cheese

small handful of baby basil leaves

small handful of pomegranate seeds (optional)

Put the rice into a large saucepan with plenty of salted water, and boil until tender - about 30-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the cherry vinaigrette:  remove the pits from and combine one third of the cherries in a blender with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and maple syrup.  Blend until the mixture is smooth, taste and adjust any of the elements as necessary.  Set aside.

Once the rice is cooked, drain, and put into a large bowl along with spinach leaves and most of the hazelnuts.  Toss together well until the spinach begins to wilt slightly.  Add a generous amount of the dressing and toss well.  Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Cut the rest of the cherries in half and remove the pits.  Then stir most of them into the rice.

Tip everything out onto a platter.  Strew the remaining cherries and hazelnuts over the top, along with chunks of the goat cheese and the pomegranate seeds.  Finally stud with the sprigs of basil and serve immediately.

This is a great dish for a summer celebration - packed full of amazing flavours and textures - and I do hope you'll try it.

This last year has not been without its difficulties, and I won't be sad to close the door on it in a few hours time.  However, there have also been wonderful moments in my year - new friendships forged, the kindness of strangers, memorable travels, and the opportunity to start a new life in a new home and city.  Most of all I am immensely grateful for all of you who stop by here regularly, who take the time to read what I have to say, leave me your comments, and lend me your support and wisdom.  I am optimistic about the year ahead, and for all of you I wish you a happy and inspirational time in 2012.

 

Earlier I mentioned Cookbook Sundays.  What is that all about, you are perhaps wondering.  Well, if you're anything like me you have dozens of cookbooks gathering dust on your bookshelves, some of which have never even been cooked from.  Sure I spent hours browsing through them when I first bought them, marking all the recipes I was going to make with little post-it notes, and yet still those books languish in the bookcase and never make it to the kitchen.  There are others from which I have made but one recipe which was such a resounding success that I've made it over and over again, and yet somehow I've never made anything else from that book.  Sound a bit familiar?!

Take comfort - you are not alone, and now Cookbook Sundays is your opportunity to change that.  Every Sunday I'm going to share with you a recipe that I haven't made before from one of my ever expanding collection of cookbooks.  And, because I know that if you have read this far then you are guilty of this too, I'm inviting you to join in with me.  Each week my Cookbook Sundays post will have a linky for you to share something you've cooked from one of your cookbooks.

The rules for joining in are simple:

1. Your post must state the author and the title of the book your recipe has come from.
2. Your post must mention Cookbook Sundays and link back to this post.  Including the Cookbook Sundays badge is optional, but always appreciated.
3. You may submit as many entries as you like, and you may use the same cookbook as many times as you like.  Old posts are also welcome.
4. Lastly,  remember that what goes around, comes around - one of the reasons you are participating in this is because you want people to read your posts, so do the right thing and go and visit a few of the other participants. 

Now, go and dust off those cookbooks and get cooking!  Use the linky tool at the end of this post to submit your entry/entries - simply scroll down to where it says "You are next ... Click here to enter", and then follow the instructions.  The linky will be open for one week.

Lastly, if you would like to use the Cookbook Sundays badge in your post, simply copy the code in the box beside the badge below and paste it into your post.  Feel free to also use it in your sidebar if you wish.

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I'm also sharing this post at Souper (and Sammies & Salads) Sundays hosted by my lovely friend Deb, at Kahakai Kitchen, and at My Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya at My Sweet & Savory.

Rolled Almond Meringue with Christmas Mince Ice Cream & Cookbook Sundays # 3

Happy Christmas everyone - I hope you are all enjoying a lovely day with your families, and enjoying good food on your tables.  This year is a quiet Christmas for me, my partner being away in Australia for work, and finances being such that travelling to spend time with family or friends was just not an option this year.

Nevertheless, I am having a lovely relaxing day, and will certainly be enjoying my share of festive fare.  Dinner tonight will be a salad of crispy-skin, five-spice duck, with watercress, mango, sweet potato & crispy noodles, with a tamarind and sesame dressing.  Dessert will be this rolled almond meringue filled with a fruit mince ice cream.  The great thing about a dessert such as this is that I can cut off a slice (or three), and keep the rest frozen for another occasion.

This is an adaptation of a recipe from Jan Bilton's Fresh & Fancy Fare, a book I've had for about 25 years and haven't used nearly enough, so I thought this would be a great submission for this week's Cookbook Sundays.  The original recipe calls for a filling of whipped cream mixed with shredded coconut and oranges, but since I wanted to create something less perishable the ice cream filling instead of cream seemed the way to go.  And besides, who really needs an excuse to make ice cream?!

As luck would have it, I just happened to have half a jar of Christmas fruit mince left over from last year.  It was however looking a bit dried out and sad, but I remembered that it had been particularly good, so I felt sure that if I gave it a bit of love I could resurrect it and use it as the base for my ice cream.  I added a heaped tablespoon of my home-made Seville orange marmalade, 50g of chopped chocolate (I used Whittakers Dark Ghana), and a hefty slosh of my Damson gin.  Not only did that breathe new life into my old Christmas mince, but I think I successfully improved it.  Any good quality Christmas mince that you happen to have on hand will suffice here.

For my ice cream custard, I used David Lebovitz's base for his Brown Bread Ice Cream - well, him being the God of all things ice cream in my opinion, where else would I turn?

There is brown sugar and sour cream in the ice cream base which gives it a lovely caramel base flavour, with a hint of tartness, all of which married beautifully with the spices, bitter orange, chocolate and almond flavours coming through from the Christmas mince - utterly divine.  You can be sure there will be more than one batch of this whipped up over the summer - actually beautiful flavours for a winter ice cream too, which is not to be sniffed at since ice cream is (hands down) my favourite dessert all year round.

The meringue is beautifully chewy and marshmallowy (is that a real word? - you know what I mean), and the hint of almond adds yet another layer of flavour to those coming through from the ice cream.

Rolled Almond Meringue with Christmas Mince Ice Cream

Adaptations from recipe by Jan Bilton

from Fresh & Fancy Fare

and recipe by David Lebovitz

Serves 6-8

Click here for a printable copy of this recipe

For the ice cream:

1 cup whole milk

1-1/2 cups cream

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

pinch of salt

225g (8 oz) sour cream

5 large egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup good quality Christmas fruit mince

For the meringue:

5 egg whites

1 cup caster sugar (mine was vanilla infused)

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon white vinegar

2 teaspoons cornflour

Begin by making the ice cream, and I suggest that you start this at least 24 hours before making the meringue.

First of all make an ice bath by putting ice cubes and a bit of water into a medium bowl.  Then put the sour cream and 1 cup of the cream into another medium sized bowl.  Stand this bowl in the ice bath and set everything aside.

Put the egg yolks into yet another bowl, whisk slightly to break up the yolks, and then set this aside also.

Put the milk, the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, the sugars and the salt into a medium-sized saucepan, and heat over a gentle heat.  Stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved completely and the mixture is warm.  Test by sticking your little finger into the mixture and when it is too hot to hold your finger there it is ready.

Remove from the heat, and gradually pour some of the milk mixture onto the egg yolks.  Whisk constantly as you pour - this is important or you will end up with scrambled eggs.  Once about half of the milk mixture is incorporated into the eggs, scrape the whole lot back into the saucepan, again whisking constantly.

Set the pan back over low heat, and stir constantly until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spatula.

Remove from the heat, and strain the mixture over the top of the cream and sour cream mixture resting in its ice bath.  Whisk constantly until the mixture is smooth and has cooled completely.  Stir in the vanilla.

Cover with cling film, pressing it right down onto the surface of the custard.  Refrigerate for several hours at least - ideally overnight.

Next day, churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.  Remove the churned ice cream to a cold bowl, stir through the Christmas mince, then freeze until firm.

Now make the meringue.  Begin by preheating your oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).  Lightly butter a Swiss-roll tin and line it with parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a scrupulously clean bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff.  Add the sugar, a little bit at a time, and continue beating until all the sugar is dissolve and the mixture is stiff and glossy.

Fold the almond extract, vinegar and cornflour gently into the meringue.

Spread the mixture into the prepared tin, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, spread another sheet of baking paper out onto your kitchen bench and dust it liberally with icing sugar.

Remove the cooked meringue from the oven, and turn it out onto the icing sugar dusted baking paper.  Allow to cool completely.

Spread ice cream over the centre of the meringue (soften your ice cream first if necessary), roll up from the long edge.  Wrap in parchment paper and freeze until you are ready to serve.

Enjoy and have a happy Christmas - for those of us here in New Zealand it's nearly over, but I know that for many of you it is only just beginning.

 

Earlier I mentioned Cookbook Sundays.  What is that all about, you are perhaps wondering.  Well, if you're anything like me you have dozens of cookbooks gathering dust on your bookshelves, some of which have never even been cooked from.  Sure I spent hours browsing through them when I first bought them, marking all the recipes I was going to make with little post-it notes, and yet still those books languish in the bookcase and never make it to the kitchen.  There are others from which I have made but one recipe which was such a resounding success that I've made it over and over again, and yet somehow I've never made anything else from that book.  Sound a bit familiar?!

Take comfort - you are not alone, and now Cookbook Sundays is your opportunity to change that.  Every Sunday I'm going to share with you a recipe that I haven't made before from one of my ever expanding collection of cookbooks.  And, because I know that if you have read this far then you are guilty of this too, I'm inviting you to join in with me.  Each week my Cookbook Sundays post will have a linky for you to share something you've cooked from one of your cookbooks.

The rules for joining in are simple:

1. Your post must state the author and the title of the book your recipe has come from.
2. Your post must mention Cookbook Sundays and link back to this post.  Including the Cookbook Sundays badge is optional, but always appreciated.
3. You may submit as many entries as you like, and you may use the same cookbook as many times as you like.  Old posts are also welcome.
4. Lastly,  remember that what goes around, comes around - one of the reasons you are participating in this is because you want people to read your posts, so do the right thing and go and visit a few of the other participants. 

Now, go and dust off those cookbooks and get cooking!  Use the linky tool at the end of this post to submit your entry/entries - simply scroll down to where it says "You are next ... Click here to enter", and then follow the instructions.  The linky will be open for one week.

Lastly, if you would like to use the Cookbook Sundays badge in your post, simply copy the code in the box beside the badge below and paste it into your post.  Feel free to also use it in your sidebar if you wish.

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I am also sharing this post with Sweet New Zealand, a monthly blog event created by the very lovely Alessandra Zecchini, and which this month is hosted by the equally lovely and incredibly talented Bron Marshall. This is an opportunity for all Kiwi bloggers (whether you are living in New Zealand or overseas), as well as for non-Kiwi bloggers living in New Zealand, to connect and share some of those sweet treats from your kitchen.  So, head on over to Bron's and share something sweet.

I'm also sharing this at Bake with Bizzy.