Sweet Orange Couscous with Cranberries and Pistachios

Following on from middle eastern inspired food, I fancied trying something a little different with an ingredient that is very reminiscent of Moroccan food...couscous! It's a staple food with tagine a etc but when my son asked for a pudding I decided to make it sweet, with the addition of some brown sugar and/or honey and some nuts and dried fruit, it was a huge hit especially served with a little vanilla ice cream :))

Sweet orange couscous with cranberries and pistachios

125g couscous

200ml boiling water 

2 tbsp soft brown sugar (you can use honey in place of all the sugar or half)

1/4 tsp cinnamon 

Zest of one large orange

Handful of cranberries

Handful of pistachio nuts

Put the couscous into a bowl with the orange zest

In a jug pour in the boiling water and add the sugar (honey) and mix well. You can of course add the orange juice if you wanted to have a strong orange flavour)

Pour this onto the couscous and cover with cling film and leave to rest for around 5 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is light and fluffy.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and add the cranberries and pistachios and serve with a good dollop of ice cream :)

Quick and easy :)

Please feel free to add spices such as cardamom or more cinnamon or even some ginger :)

The Best Carrot Cake Ever

This week has been so busy and today was no exception, swimming with my son, food shopping and we also had a friend over for lunch so of course i had to make something special but with limited time I opted for homemade focaccia with cold meats, cheeses, olives and homemade dips...all topped off with some gorgeous carrot cake!
This is probably one of my favourite cakes due to the fact that it is so moist and tasty ...and as its almost half carrot it must certainly be good for you and im sure it counts as one of your five a day hahaha, as I say to myself while tucking into my fourth piece :)))
My version, as so many, has nuts in but I haven't opted for walnuts or pecans..mine uses pistachios and with the orange zest...my goodness does it work well! The cake itself is so easy to make and the end result is amazing. I did it as a tray bake today but please feel free to use 2 x 8" cake tins and use the half the frosting to fill the two cakes and the remaining on top.

The Best Carrot Cake Ever with Pistachio Nuts

250ml vegetable oil
150g caster sugar
100g soft muscavado sugar
Zest ½ to 3/4 large orange
1/2 tsp all spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon (ground)
3 large free-range eggs
250 self-raising flour, sifted
250g carrots, coarsely grated (about 3 large carrots)
100g pistachio nuts, coarsely chopped

THE CREAM CHEESE ICING
150g cream cheese
150g mascarpone
75g icing sugar, sifted
Zest ½ orange

Heat the oven to 180C/170c Grease a shallow 20x30cm (8x12in) cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper, extending the paper 5cm (2in) above the tin.
Place the oil, sugars, orange zest and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer bowl and mix on a medium speed until well beaten. Reduce the speed of the mixer and gradually add the eggs.
Sift over the flour and spices and gently fold in with a large metal spoon until smooth. Fold in the grated carrot and the chopped pistachio nuts. Spoon the batter into the tin and smooth the surface.
Bake for about 35 mins, or until golden and firm to the touch. Cool in the tin, then, with the help of the overhanging baking paper, lift the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely. To make the icing, mix together all the ingredients until smooth and light. Spread over the top of the cake.