Pomegranate & Toasted Almond Couscous Salad

Happy Friday!

This is the first time in weeks we’ll be spending the weekend at our house in Waterford. Combine a weekend at home with our broken washing machine finally getting fixed and you’ve got a list of mom chores a mile long to get through. Here’s just a taste of what needs doing:

1. Laundry. And then some laundry. Then more laundry.
2. Guest room bed made; sheets washed.
3. Go to the Nearly New Sale on Sunday and buy a crib. And try to refrain from buying a million other baby items.
4. Set up said crib, finish the nursery, set up baby monitors (yes, I realize my baby is three months old, but if she isn’t sleeping in her nursery yet it doesn’t have to be finished!).
5. Bake Christmas Cakes.
6. Clean. And then clean. And then a bit more cleaning.
7. Make Sunday Roast.
8. Groceries.
9. Make a to-do list for Christmas. Seriously, I need to be organized.
10. Get photos developed at Harvey Norman.

Etc., etc., etc.

So just a quick post today, hastily typed while Maeve plays with her toys on the carpet (before she gets bored and I have to walk her around the house until she falls asleep… if she falls asleep). We had this couscous salad last night served warm to accompany some seared salmon, but it was even better today as a cold lunch.

Pomegranates are in season and those plump, juice-filled seeds remind me that Christmas isn’t too far off (omgomgomg). Combined with some fluffy couscous, zingy lemon, olive oil and scallions they make a super tasty, Middle Eastern inspired side (for example, served warm this salad would be delicious with braised lamb) or healthy lunch. If you want to go crazy, season some natural yogurt with cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper and drizzle over the salad.

Pomegranate & Toasted Almond Couscous Salad

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked couscous (or barley, or bulgur, or quinoa)

1/2 bunch scallions, thinly sliced

rind of one lemon, finely chopped

seeds of one pomegranate

1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

2 Tbsp good quality olive oil

2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 bunch fresh, flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (chiffonade)

handful of fresh arugula (rocket), for garnish

Directions:

• Toss the couscous, pomegranate, lemon zest, scallions, almonds, parsley, olive oil & salt and pepper in a bowl to combine.
• Plate and garnish with arugula and another drizzle of olive oil.
• Serve hot, warm or cold as a side of main dish.

Maple, Blueberry & Lemon Scones

I’m always on the lookout for a good scone. When I say scone, I mean the type of scone you get in Canada – large, triangular, sweet, biscuit-style pastries laden with berries and flavourings, then sprinkled with sugar before baking or a glaze after. The perfect scone is crumbly, sweet (but not too sweet) and stodgy. It goes well with a hot cup of tea and, if un-glazed, sliced in half with a smear of fresh butter.

In Ireland I’ve already gotten into trouble with my food terminology. A biscuit is not a cookie; a scone is not a biscuit. Biscuits, to me, are similar to scones but much less sweet and not as large. A scone may be prepared in a similar way, but it involves an egg (something I’d never put in a biscuit), a bit more sugar and berries or sweet flavourings (cranberry scones with almond are a lovely flavour combination; if you’re ever in Cape Breton you can get them at The Dancing Goat in Margaree).

Biscuits are something we eat with seafood chowder or baked beans back home. Biscuits here, of course, are cookies (but not all cookies – for example, a chocolate chip cookie would not be considered a biscuit here, according to my in-laws).

Can you sense my confusion? Don’t even get me started on poitín and poutine.

Anyway, yesterday I had a craving for a really good scone to have with tea after dinner. I had some blueberries so decided to make lemon-blueberry scones with a maple glaze. I made these scones a bit smaller than I normally would, just for portion control purposes (it’s only me and Patrick eating them – my Mom comes next week so we’ll at least have some help then). This recipe makes a moist, crumbly, sweet scone. You can drizzle them with the glaze or leave it out entirely – they are sweet enough on their own.

This recipe will make 8 large scones or 16 small.

Maple, Blueberry & Lemon Scones

Ingredients:

2 cups AP Flour

3 Tbsp white sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup cold, cubed butter

Zest of one lemon

1 cup fresh blueberries

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp room temperature butter

1-2 Tbsp milk

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees (200 degrees Celsius, no fan). Line a baking tray with parchment.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add the cubed, cold butter and rub into the flour mixture until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add the blueberries and lemon zest to the bowl. Mix briefly to combine. Make a well in the centre of the flour/butter/blueberry mixture.
• In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the egg and buttermilk together until combined. Pour into the flour/butter/blueberry mixture and mix with a wooden spoon/spatula until just combined (do not over mix!).
• Pour contents of the bowl onto a well floured surface and knead a few times (the dough will be sticky so keeping your surface well-floured is essential). Shape the dough into a rectangle, making sure the dough is rolled out to about 1 1/2 inch thickness.
• With a floured knife, cut the rectangle in half, then cut each piece in half again. Cut the four pieces on the diagonal to create 8 triangular scones. Transfer the scones to the lined baking sheet.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until the scones are golden brown (if you’re not using glaze, lightly brush with milk or cream and lightly sprinkle with sugar before baking).
• Make the glaze: combine the confectioner’s sugar, butter and maple syrup until well mixed. While mixing with a hand blender, slowly drizzle the milk until your desired consistency is reached. When the scones have cooled, drizzle the tops with the maple glaze.

Haddock, Tarragon & Lemon Fishcakes

I am a true East Coast girl in every sense of the word. I like nothing better than swimming in rivers and oceans, picking wild blueberries, drinking Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale (the pride of Nova Scotia), BBQ-ing on the deck and gossiping with my mom and aunties.

Also, I’m kind of obsessed with seafood.

Mussels, lobster, clams, scallops, cod, haddock – these are some of my favourite things to eat, if they’re cooked right. Cooked right how? Well… barely cooked and served with some drawn butter is usually perfect, in my humble opinion.

No visit home is complete without a few trips to my favourite seafood-eating joints. I go to certain places for certain things. For example:

Lobster Sandwiches: The Herring Choker Deli, Nyanza, Cape Breton

Steamed Lobster Dinner (with all-you-can-eat chowder and mussels!): The Lobster Suppers, Baddeck, Cape Breton

Crab Legs, Mussels and Seafood Platters: The Rusty Anchor, Pleasant Bay, Cape Breton (Le Gabriel in Cheticamp also does a good platter)

Fish and Chips: The Cedar House, Bras D’or, Cape Breton

Fancy for wining and dining: The Chanterelle Inn, North River, Cape Breton

Seafood Chowder & Fishcakes with biscuits: Charlene’s Bayside, Whycocomagh, Cape Breton

Fishcakes are some good eatin’. You’ll find them cooked different ways depending on where you are in the world. In Cape Breton, a fishcake is usually made with salt cod or haddock, onions and mashed potato. They get fried up and served with biscuits, baked beans and green tomato chow (only the yummiest condiment known to man). I love Charlene’s fishcakes so much, I asked her to cater my wedding and requested fishcakes with green tomato chow as the starter.

I like to make fishcakes myself every now and then. I play around with the type of fish and flavourings, but I always – always – make my fishcakes with mashed potato. It’s comfort in a small, disc shaped package. Fishcakes can be a lot of work if you make it a lot of work. I always do that – sautéeing, setting up an elaborate breading station, baking in the oven after frying… it really doesn’t have to be that complicated.

In this case, though, I think I hit the mark. These fishcakes are simply flavoured, lightly breaded and seasoned so well you don’t even need a sauce with them. Since they’re made with potato, your starch is already taken care of. Lightly sauté some greens, or make a quick salad as a side dish, and dinner is taken care of. I served these haddock, tarragon and lemon fishcakes with some peas and spinach sautéed with garlic. And I’m salivating in remembrance.

What are your favourite spots in Ireland for seafood?

Haddock, Tarragon & Lemon Fishcakes

Ingredients:

2 fillets fresh haddock, skinned and de-boned (I do this myself but you can get your fishmonger to do it, too)

4 medium sized potatoes

Juice and zest of one lemon

1 Tbsp butter

1 medium onion, finely diced

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh tarragon (you can use dried as well; add it in while the fish is cooking)

3 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

11/2 cup bread crumbs

3 eggs

1 cup AP flour

Oil for frying

Directions:

• Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Cover with salted water and boil until fork tender.
• While the potatoes are cooking, sauté the onions and bay leaf in the butter. Add the haddock fillets and, as they cook, break them up with a fork.
• Add the lemon juice to the onion/bay/haddock. Cook until the haddock is opaque and the lemon juice has reduced. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf.
• Finely chop the parsley and tarragon, if using fresh. Add the herbs and lemon zest to a mixing bowl. Add the haddock mixture to the same bowl and mix well.
• When the potatoes are tender, drain well and mash with salt and pepper. Add the mashed potatoes to the haddock/herb/lemon mixture and mix well. *Taste the mixture to check for seasoning at this point, while it’s hot. Food tastes differently at different temperatures, and you’ll be eating these fishcakes hot.
• Lightly mix one egg and add to the potato/haddock mixture. Mix quickly so the egg doesn’t scramble. If you’re in a hurry, put the mixing bowl in the freezer for 15-20 minutes. If you’re preparing the fishcakes in advance, pop the mixture in the fridge for an hour.
• While the mixture is cooling, set up your breading station. You need four plates – one for flour, one for eggs, one for breadcrumbs and the last one for the finished, breaded fishcakes. Season the flour with salt and pepper; whisk the eggs with a fork. Set them up in the right order – flour, egg, breadcrumbs, finished.
• When the haddock mixture is cool enough to handle, portion into equal sizes and shape into discs. Lightly coat each fishcake in the flour, then coat in egg and breadcrumbs. Place the finished fishcakes on the clean plate. This mixture will make 5-6 large fishcakes (about 1/2 cup mixture per fishcake).
• At this point you can continue to chill the fishcakes until you’re ready to serve, or you can heat up some oil in a pan and fry them on each side until they’re golden brown. I preheat the oven to 350 degrees (180 degrees Celsius) and pop them in for 10-15 minutes after frying to ensure they’re cooked all the way through.
• Serve hot with salad, sauteed greens, baked beans (these would be great with French-style cassoulet), chutney or country relish.

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Lemon Ricotta & Zucchini Pasta

We’ve been enjoying some beautifully sunny days here in Waterford (excluding today – I woke up to grey skies and low temperatures) and the past week has made me feel like summer is truly on it way. Even though, in Ireland, summer technically starts in May. I don’t really get it. I guess it has something to do with growing seasons? Explanations are welcomed!

So far, May in Ireland doesn’t feel any different from May in Cape Breton – temperamental weather abounds, where it’s warm and sunny one day and snowing (or hailing) the next. We’ll see how June goes.

I’m getting way off topic here! The point is, we’ve been enjoying sunny and warm weather in Waterford lately and it’s made me crave fresh, summery flavours. Hence, last night’s dinner.

I used to work the pasta station at a busy restaurant in Toronto called O&B Canteen. With the different seasons came our menu changes, and one of my favourite seasonal menu items was the pappardelle with pine nuts, zucchini, lemon, mint and fresh ricotta that we’d get in every morning, still warm, from The Cheese Boutique. We would julienne the zucchini into long strips and quickly bake it in the oven. The zucchini would entangle with the pappardelle and the whole thing tasted so fresh and creamy. Although this was a few years ago, I still crave this flavour combination when the days start to get warm.

I didn’t have time to make fresh pappardelle yesterday (can you believe it?!). I did have some fusilli in the cupboard, so instead of finely slicing the zucchini into strips, I cut them into a medium-small dice to better suit the pasta. I zested a lemon and mixed the zest into the ricotta with a bit of freshly ground pepper, salt and a few drops of habanero hot sauce. I have some gorgeous mint growing in the garden, but I decided not to go with the mint this time, since I was using sage with the chicken (everything in moderation!). I still need to plant a few more herbs – if I had some flat leaf parsley I would have thrown some into the pasta.

The chicken was very simply wrapped in prosciutto with a sage leaf and a smear of garlic mayo. I roasted it at a high temperature to encourage the prosciutto to crisp. Hope you like it!

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Lemon Ricotta & Zucchini Pasta

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup mayonnaise or aioli

1 clove garlic

3-4 large sage leaves

3-4 slices prosciutto, parma ham or serrano ham (whichever you can find)

Salt and Pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme

1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

For the pasta:

500 g dried or fresh pasta (I used fusilli, but any will do)

250 g ricotta cheese

2 tsp hot sauce or chili flakes

Zest of one lemon

Salt and Pepper

Olive Oil

1 medium-sized zucchini

1-2 cloves garlic

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (200 degrees Celsius, no fan).
• Prepare the chicken: mince one clove of garlic and mix with the mayonnaise or aioli. Smear 1-2 heaping teaspoons on each breast of chicken.
• Place one sage leaf on each piece of chicken, ensuring it sticks to the mayo.
• Carefully wrap each breast of chicken in one slice of prosciutto. Place in a baking dish.
• Add the tomatoes to the baking dish. Sprinkle a few sprigs of fresh thyme over the top, then season lightly with salt, pepper and olive oil. Set aside.
• Prepare the zucchini: wash and cut off both ends of the zucchini. Cut the zucchini in half, then half again. Slice each portion into sticks and then cut into a medium-small dice. Place diced zucchini on a lined baking sheet and lightly season with salt, pepper and olive oil. Place in the 400 degree oven for approximately 5-8 minutes, until tender but still brightly coloured.
• Put a pot of water on to boil and place the chicken in the oven. Set the timer for 20 minutes.
• Mix the ricotta cheese with the lemon zest and hot sauce, then season with salt and pepper. Finely dice 1-2 cloves of garlic and set aside.
• Boil your pasta in salted water until al dente. In a large pan, heat some olive oil and then lightly cook the minced garlic. Add the zucchini and ricotta mixture to the pan and heat through.
• Strain the pasta and add to the pan. Mix thoroughly with the zucchini and ricotta, then check for seasoning. You shouldn’t have to add any extra salt to this dish if you’ve properly salted your pasta water and seasoned the zucchini and ricotta.
• Remove the chicken from the oven. Plate the pasta and garnish with the roasted cherry tomatoes. Add the chicken to the plate and pour the pan juices over the top.