Day 214: Cranberry Couscous Salad

Store cupboard food is always a great way to make dinner. If you can find a way to create something delicious without actually having to spend anything then there is something even more comforting than having previously had to shell out a lot for some expensive ingredients. There is one exception to this… when you make something which you have never tried before.

I do love couscous. There is so much that it is a perfect accompaniment to and today’s recipe is one I have made as a side dish for some pork chops (the recipe of which I will be writing up tomorrow) and thought that the dried cranberries in this would act as the perfect accompaniment to the cocoa and chilli powder used with the pork chops.

Ingredients (serves 3):

• 3/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup uncooked couscous
• 1/8 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 sliced almonds, toasted
• 1/8 cup spring onions, chopped

Combine the chicken stock with the cranberries, cumin and cinnamon in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Then take off the heat and stir in the couscous. Let this stand for 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork.

Whisk the oil and vinegar together and pour over the couscous then toss it with the spring onions and almonds then serve.

Adapted from here

Verdict: I would like to forewarn you that this does not make as much as you would first expect (then again as long as you serve it with a decent main then you will not be too affected by this slight shortcoming. This is originally meant to contain a small amount fresh mint, but I would be spending a quid for something that probably did not add too much. The combination of the cranberries with the cinnamon and the spring onions made this a perfect side for the pork and would be also be really good with some chicken.

Calorie Count: 234 per serving

Day 191: Pork, Pear and Cranberry Salad

There is nothing like a warm salad. The last one I made was the cobb salad (and how glorious that was) and I have had the need to make another one. I just need to find a recipe for salade nicoise now…

I hate to make a number of substitutions to make this recipe (as I would otherwise have had to buy a bunch of ingredients I am unlikely to use again before it goes out). So I used the white parts of spring onions in the place of shallots whilst white wine vinegar went in for cider vinegar. It is unlikely that these will make too much of a difference in flavour overall.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3/4 tsp brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsps garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 tsps dried thyme
• 1 lb pork meat, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsps plain flour
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup spring onions
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4  cup cranberry juice (I used Ocean Spray cranberry & raspberry)
• 6 cups spinach
• 1 ripe pear, thinly sliced

Mix the mustard, vinegar, sugar, 1/2 tsp of garlic and 1/4 tsp of the thyme in a bowl and then set aside. In another bowl mix the pork with the flour, 1/2 tsps of salt and pepper as well as the remaining garlic and thyme. Make sure this is left to stand for at least 5 minutes.

Add 1 tbsp oil to a saucepan followed by the spring onions. Cook these for about 3 minutes so that they are nice and tender after which you add the juice and the dried cranberries. Reduce this on a low heat so that there are about 2 tbsps of dressing. Then pour in 1 tbsp of olive oil and well blend. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside.

Add 1 tbsp of oil a large frying pan. Fry the pork over a medium heat for about 3 minutes per side. When the pork is cooked stir in 1 tbsp of the cranberry dressing.

Toss the spinach and pear in a large bowl with the rest of the dressing and distribute it over the serving plates. Top this with the pork.

Adapted from here

Verdict: The cranberry vinaigrette that was made in this recipe was absolutely gorgeous, the fact that it was served warm made it even better. Same with the pork, which was perfectly seasoned.

Despite the number of substitutions this did not suffer at all… probably benefited from this somehow.

Calorie Count: 360 per serving