I’ve finally joined the other 1.25 billion users of facebook and formed my own Cabinet of Cookery page. All of my eager readers can now follow me on facebook! Remember to hit the “Like” icon. 

Cheers all around especially from my almost 15 year old son Jovan who helped to pull the page together for me. Despite the myriad of questions I threw in along the way, he exhibited great patience and only minimal exasperation and eye-rolling. This was in part due to subtle reminders of who feeds him those delicious dishes on a daily basis. Nothing like a little guilt thrown in for collateral. 

This evening’s family dinner certainly didn’t disappoint. There was NOTHING LEFT save for few scant pomegranate seeds that had bounced off onto the floor and failed the 3 second rule. The inspiration for our meal came courtesy of Yotam Ottolenghi’s newest cookbook, Plenty, which lives up to its name in style, substance and ultimate flavour of each dish. Had I planned the meal in advance I could have followed the recipes to a “T” but instead found myself at 5:30pm fossicking through my fridge and pantry supplies and substituting where needed. 

What a great success this approach turned out to be. The little cumin dusted lamb cutlets that my husband barbecued to perfection (keeping them pink and succulent inside), were served with a Roasted Cherry Tomato and Pomegranate Salad and a substantial Quinoa, Saffron Rice, Grapefruit and Fresh Herb Pilaf. The side dishes were colourful and fragrant and an utterly impressive taste sensation. They could actually be served as stand-alone dishes, suitable for vegetarians by simply substituting chicken stock in the rice, for vegetable stock. Cooking is not just about WHAT goes into the meal, but also HOW the ingredients are prepared. This brings out the best in the flavours and potential textures on offer. 

My friend Kerrie regularly incorporates quinoa into her family’s meals and recommend that I try the white quinoa variety. This holds it’s form well but remains fluffy and light in texture, combining effortlessly with other ingredients. Now that I have commenced on a wheat gluten free stint, I’m keen to experiment further with this ingredient along with a variety of other cleaver little grain substitutes. 

I’m going to make the tomato based salad again for our next family gathering and will add peppery rocket and fresh mint leaves just before serving for additional robust colour and form. 

Roasted Cherry Tomato and Pomegranate Salad to generously serve 8 as a side dish

Ingredients
4 x 200 gram punnets of the sweetest cherry tomatoes you can find, cut in half. 
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
good grind of sea salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1 large pomegranate, seeds removed and loosened, pith and skin discarded
2 cups young rocket leaves left whole and a handful of fresh mint leaves roughly torn (optional extra)

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees on a conventional setting. 

Take out a large ceramic baking dish. preferably something you could serve this salad in. Add the tomatoes, allspice, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix gently to combine. Place this in the oven for 15 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and drizzle over the pomegranate molasses. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes. 

When ready, toss through the pomegranate seeds and serve whilst still warm. *If adding the rocket and mint. gently toss this through just before serving. 

Quinoa, Saffron Rice, Grapefruit and Fresh Herb Pilaf

I have specified using the LEAVES of the fresh herbs only, not the woody stalks. Yes, this is  a tedious and time consuming task but perfect for restless children needing some focus during that difficult part of the evening that parent’s dub “witching hour”. So to avoid becoming a witch yourself, call on your own tribe to gently pluck the leaves off the stalks into a sieve ready for rinsing. 

Ingredients
1 large Spanish onion sliced finely into semi-circular pieces
olive oil
sea salt
fresh herbs – 20 grams basil, 20 grams coriander, 10 grams mint
100 grams white quinoa
350 grams basmati rice
1/3 teaspoon saffron thread
750 mls liquid – 500 mls chicken stock and 250 mls water. 
lemon – finely grated rind and juice
1 cup roughly chopped rocket or baby spinach leaves
1 large pink grapefruit, pink flesh removed and sliced into thin crescents, free of white pith. 

1) Heat up about 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a frypan, add the onion and a couple of pinches of salt. Fry the onions over a high heat for 5 minutes. You must stir regularly and keep a close eye on the proceedings to avoid the ingredients burning. The onions should be cooked until they darken in colour and are slightly crispy. Reduce the heat a little if they are starting to turn black. When finished, use tongs to remove the fried onions onto paper towels and pat dry. Place to the side until needed. 

2) Roughly chop the fresh herbs, rocket or spinach and scrape into your wide, shallow serving bowl. 

3) Bring 500 grams of water to the boil in a small saucepan and then add the quinoa grains. Remember to wash them in a fine sieve first to remove any grit. Cook for no more than 9 minutes, drain in a fine sieve when done and then refresh under cold water. Shake the sieve from side to side to release any excess water. Fluff them up with a fork and add to your serving bowl. 

4) Wash the rice under running water and then add to a deep saucepan in which 2 tablespoons of olive oil has been heating. Stir the rice until it turns opaque and starts to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the saffron, a grind of sea salt, and the required liquids. Place a piece of baking paper on top of the mixture, the ends of which should slightly overlap the rim of your saucepan. Clamp on the lid which will hold the ends of this paper in place. Bring the mixture to a brief boil, then turn down to a very low heat and simmer for 12 minutes. When ready, fluff up with a fork and add to the other ingredients in the serving bowl. 

5) Grate in the lemon rind and squeeze in the lemon juice. Use salad servers to gently toss together the ingredients. Scatter over the grapefruit pieces. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve whilst still warm. If you are not eating until later, refrigerate until needed, taking it out of the fridge half an hour before serving. 

This dish is particularly delicious served with a dollop of Greek style yoghurt which we would have included except that the last pot of yoghurt had been scraped clean without a note added on the shopping list indicating we needed more than 3 kilos next time. Back to the the grocery store tomorrow…again!