Carrot & Cumin Salad

Today I have a food hangover. Or maybe a wine hangover? Probably both. We were treated to the gastronomic indulgence that was a whole pig done on the spit at the Greek Deli last night. I haven't eaten rich food like that, in that quantity, for a long time, so that would explain the food hangover. I also probably won't eat like that again until Christmas, so it's OK. And it was so completely worth it. I love pork generally, but so often it's done to dryness and it doesn't meet expectations. This far exceeded expectations, was completely delicious and succulent, and the crackling was perfection.

So to keep my mind focused today, and make myself feel a little healthier I'm going to tell you all about my Carrot and Cumin Salad from Sunday. Coincidentally, this would have been a great accompaniment to last night's feast. I did alter the original recipe slightly, cooking methods, etc but nothing drastic. This is a very, very easy recipe and will be an excellent addition to the usual repertoire of summer BBQ salads, certainly will be added in our house. It comes from one of my favourite recipe books - The Simple Art of Marrying Food and Wine.

What you'll need:
6 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Cumin seeds
Olive oil
100ml Orange Juice
A handful of coriander - if you love it, add more, if not go easy.

Don't scrimp on the orange juice. A good quality, real orange juice will add flavour and the stuff from concentrate is just plain bad for you.

What you need to do:

1. I used the food processor on the fine slicing setting to chop up my carrots. It meant that they weren't all exactly the same size, gave it a great rustic look and cut them finer and quicker than I could do by hand.

2. Add the olive oil to a hot pan - 4 tablespoons was recommended by the recipe - I used a couple of healthy lugs. Add the cumin seeds and ground cumin to the oil and mix. With the finished product I felt I could have added more.

3. Add the onions and cook on a medium heat for 4-5 minutes to soften but not colour.

4. Add the orange juice and heat that through, then add the carrots. Because they were so finely chopped they didn't need to cook for long. I like my carrots with a bit of crunch, and I was making a salad not mash!!

5. Add a little bit of water, season and cook for a couple of minutes until it's all heated through. Taste the carrots to see if they're the desired texture. If you want softer carrots, cook for a little longer. I cooked them for a couple of minutes and let the sauce reduce a little bit.

6. Take the carrots of the heat, strain the sauce from the carrots, back into the pan and reduce down till it's a little thicker and more syrupy. I think that took 2-3 minutes. Pour the sauce back over the carrots and mix through. Allow to stand and cool.

7. Once cool, add the coriander and serve at room temperature.

The whole process took about 15 minutes and I did it early in the afternoon so it could just stand and cool. I had it cold the next day out the fridge and it was just as lovely. In fact the flavours had matured a little as so often happens with food that has spices in it, and it tasted even better. One of those things that can be prepped the day before you need it.

Enjoy! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Ciao
xoxo

Sensational Summer Salads... Part 1

I've procrastinated enough! I have been the chief procrastinator at home for the past 2 months when it's come to this blog, and I have no reason or excuses as to why. There has been food cooked, there have been times when the computer and myself are free for this meaningful dialogue, but it just hasn't happened. Armed with a cup of tea (Rooibos to be exact), I am now making inroads to the various list of blog posts running through my head.

And what better way to start my first blog from absence with the superfood du jour, quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Those of you that read this blog regularly will remember a post from the beginning of the year about this wonder grain. And it's popularity has just been growing! Move over couscous, brown rice and any other grain pretending, this bad boy is the shizz! At a recent dinner party, not hosted by us which was even better, we got onto the subject of this exceptional ingredient. And after ticking off a long list of goodies - it's incredibly low GI, gluten free, high in protein, has antioxidants, etc, etc - the only real problem we found is that it is tasteless. Although Marty pointed out that this is not really a problem because it makes it versatile and can be used in so many dishes because it adopts the flavours of that dish. Another pro!! Quite frankly, if quinoa was a superhero it'd be Superman, without the Kryptonite.

So we know this is superfood, and now we know there's not much flavour, so what do you do with it? Marty's restaurant has it in their lamb salad, someone else was telling me about a Mexican restaurant that does a spicy salad with it, and I'm going to introduce you to my newest Summer Salad that has been added to the BBQ repertoire. A quick and easy Quinoa salad. And to make it even easier here's a link so you can enjoy it, and find some more tasty quinoa salads. http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/quinoa-salad.php You'll notice it's not only a vegetarian salad but vegan too, so is extremely helpful when guests arrive of that persuasion. For my followers in warmer climates, make the salad and chill it. Add the seeds and nuts and you don't even have to worry about a protein with it, so on those stinking hot summer nights or days when you want something fresh, healthy and filling this is the perfect choice.

The other thing I love about it, is that there's almost always enough left over for lunch the next day so you can feel very virtuous if you've over-indulged with BBQ food the day before, because let's face it, who hasn't!

Now, it's also really important to give the grain a good soak to get rid of the saponin which coats it because that will leave a bitter taste. I think cooking for as long as the recipe suggests overcooks it a little and it gets a bit mushy. Once the little white tail shows it's pretty much cooked and if you like your grains and pulses cooked al dente then taste after 5-7, then 10minutes to see how you feel about the texture. I would also add the toasted seeds and nuts as I serve to keep them crunchy, and not mixed through and then chilled.

I hope you enjoy it and if you have a BBQ failsafe salad that comes out each time I'd love to hear about it and get some recipes from you.

Ciao,
xoxo

P.S I'm pretty sure my camera has a picture of this and MANY other delights so I'll do an upload soon! I may even have a post devoted to pictures! Who knows!!