morrocan carrot salad....my way....revisited....

bb invited me over for dinner a few nights ago and asked me to make a few things; one was salad. after some thought, i decided to refine it - i'm not mad about the one i posted earlier. to me, it was a bit boring and i wanted something with more ooomph. so this is my new version.

the leaves of half a bunch of parsley
3 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 spanish onion, peeled and quartered
1 red apple, quartered and cored
1 green apple, quartered and cored
1 rib celery, cut into 5cm lengths
1 teaspoon ground corriander
1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
a few drops orange flower water
a good few sploshes of extra virgin olive oil
the juice of a lemon
3 tablespoons hommus (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons currants
toasted slivered almonds

place everything except the currants into the thermomix bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 5. add the currants and almonds and reverse stir the salad on speed 3 for 10 seconds.

morrocan carrot salad....my way

this is the thermomix morrocan carrot salad (a taste of vegetarian, page 56), but done my way. instead of three process steps in the themomix, i've chosen to condense it to two, partly because i'm a lazy sorta girl, and partly because i like how it looks - the herbs are less pastey looking, and look like they're more part of the salad when it's done my way. naturally, if anyone is allergic to almonds or pistachios, omit them, but they add such a nice crunch to the salad.

mint
italian parsley
3 large carrots, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon ground corriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
a few drops orange flower water
30 grams extra virgin olive oil
the juice of one lemon
salt, pepper, sugar to taste
2 tablespoons currants
2 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds or pistachios

place the herbs, carrots, spices, orange flower water, oil, juice and seasonings into the thermomix bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 5. add the currants and nuts and combine on reverse speed 3 for 5 seconds.

nutty pumpkin salad

i love this salad. the original came from the austalian womens' weekly's great barbeque cookbook, but as with so many things, i can't leave them well enough alone.

1 kilogram pumpkin, cubed (i like jap/kent pumpkins best)
2 bacon rashers, chopped
3/4 cup pepitas
1 apple, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/2 teasoopn ground nutmeg

microwave the pumpkin until just tender. cool.
cook bacon until crisp. drain and cool.
gently combine the pumpkin, apple, celery, mayonnaise, sour cream and nutmeg together. place in serving bowl and sprinkle the pepitas and bacon over before serving.

ambrosia

ambrosia is food of the gods or the heavens, depending on which definition you find.
in the food world, it's the name they give to a fancy fruit salad normally made with canned pineapple and canned mandains with sour cream and marshmallows. sometimes it's sprinkled with marachino cherries and or shredded coconut.
mine's a bit different. i like to put all the different fresh fruits i can lay my hands on in mine.

this is a list of fruits i'd put in:
apple
pear
banana
orange
lychees
grapes
peach
nectarine
pineapple
apricots
blueberries
strawberries
plums
cherries
mango
watermelon
rockmelon
and whatever other fruits you can think of.
sour cream
marshmallows

wash and prepare the fruit and cut into pieces. spoon over the sour cream and add the marshmallows. mix very lightly so as not to bruise the fruit.
chill in the refrigerator until required.

AGSM's potato salad

back in the days when i was a uni student, i used to go to the AGSM's cafeteria for lunch and one of the vegetables served with one's meal was a potato salad. it was different to any of the other potato salads i had eaten in the past because it didn't have any mayonnaise.
to date, that was one of the best cafeterias i have ever been to - the chef there was genuinely a great cook with a fabulous repetoir. i guess the council at the AGSM felt they needed a cafeteria which matched the calibre of the students - AGSM at the time was the first of its kind, but others have since popped up - sydney university started their own graduate school not long after and macquarie uni has one as well.

1 kilogram potatoes
8 rashers bacon
2 green onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1/4 cup lemon juice or vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

boil, steam or microwave the potatoes until tender and cut into 2cm cubes.
take the rind off the bacon and slice the bacon into strips and dry fry them until crisp.
slice the green onions.
place everything in a large bowl and toss gently so the potatoes are coated with the lemon juice and oil.

chicken salad

i loved chicken salad with fruit in it and a creamy dressing and this is the variation i made for miss c to bring to school.

2 cups cooked chicken, cut in 2cm dice; i used free range breast because i had it
1/2 cup dried cranberries or craisins - dried cranberries look more plump than craisins
1/2 cup raw almonds
1 apple, cut into 1cm dice
1/2 cup eggplant relish
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cream
3 hard boiled eggs

place everything except the eggs into a large bowl and toss gently to combine. try not to overdo it because you don't want the chicken to disintergrate.
halve the eggs and place on top of each serving.
refrigerate any leftovers, if there are any.

eggs mollet

i first came across eggs mollet in an elizabeth david cookbook. she described them as a boiled egg with hard boiled whites and a liquid yolk. what facinated me was the way she used them - they were set in an aspic, and when eaten, the fork would slice through the jellied egg and have a liquid yolk sauce in the centre - a bit like a chocolate molten pudding, if you like.

to cook the eggs mollet, water is brought to the boil in a saucepan and the room temperature eggs are lowered into the simmering water gently and simmered for six minutes after which the eggs would be plunged into cold water to arrest the cooking. once cool, the eggs would be peeled carefully, carefully because the yolk would still be soft and it would be a nuisance to puncture an egg.

because a jellied egg, whilst facinating, isn't something i'd bother with, i offer you some words from jane grigson to provide inspiration:

‘There are few nicer lunches’, writes Jane Grigson, ‘than asparagus, the new potatoes that shared their pan, and eggs mollet (soft boiled), with melted butter and home-made bread. Add a glass of white Loire wine...’

layered garden salad

this salad is wonderfully tasty and easy to prepare, and as an added bonus, it can be made the day before it is required, which is useful when entertaining.
this recipe can be found in All-Time Favourites from the Australian Women's Weekly and Best Recipes from The Weekly, both sadly now out of print.
i'm really grateful to my friend, kris, for drawing my attention to this salad - if she hadn't, i'd still be in the dark and ignorant to its total yumminess. i was always aware of this salad, but never thought it was so good; i just categorised it as one of those salads which had its heyday in the 60s and 70s and shelved it as such. little did i know ....

1/2 iceberg lettuce, shredded
2 cups frozen peas
2 hard-boiled eggs
250g button mushrooms, finely sliced
1 cup (125g) grated tasty cheddar cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tbs sour cream
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice
6 spring/green onions, finely chopped
4 bacon rashes, finally chopped
1 large tomato, sliced
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

Place lettuce into deep 3.5 litre (14 cup) dish; cover lettuce evenly with peas. Place the sliced mushrooms over the peas and push eggs through sieve, sprinkling the eggs evenly over the mushrooms; top with cheese.
Combine mayonnaise, cream, mustard, juice and onions in a small bowl and pour over cheese. Cover and refrigerate.
Before serving, cook bacon in a pan, stirring until crisp and browned; drain on absorbent paper. Arrange tomato slices over mayonnaise layer, and sprinkle with bacon and parsley just before serving.
serves 6 to 8.