Blue Cayenne

Summer’s Bounty: Fruit Salad With a Decided Kick

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Ingredients

• 1/2 C. granulated sugar
• 1 Serrano (or Jalapeno) Chile (halved)
• 1 Whole Star Anise
• 7 to 8 C. mixed fruit (I used blueberries, raspberries, nectarines and mangoes)
• 2 t. Chopped taragon
• 2 t. chopped basil
• Flaky sea salt (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Mascarpone Cheese for garnish
• Chopped jalapenos for garnish

Instructions

1. Simmer 3/4 C. water, chile and star anise for about 15 minutes. You want to create a spicy syrup with the consistency of maple syrup. You also want the star anise and the chile flavors to infuse the sugar syrup but, at this point, you can control how spicy you want your syrup to be by lengthening or shortening the cooking time. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Chill the syrup.
2. Assemble your fresh fruits in a pretty bowl. Add half of the sugar syrup to your fruit mixture. (Add more to your taste.) Chop tarragon and basil and add to your salad. Season to your taste with salt and freshly-ground pepper.
3. Garnish with chopped jalapenos and dollops of mascarpone.

Nutrition

Calories

737 cal

Fat

6 g

Carbs

172 g

Protein

33 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Salad Days! Couscous With Tomatoes and Herbs

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Ingredients

• 1 1/3 C. Pearl (Israeli) couscous (I used Trader Joe's brand)
• 5 T. olive oil
• 1-2 t. ras el hanout (optional)
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 3/4 C. boiling water
• 10 oz. cherry tomatoes
• 1-2 onions (sliced thin and then roughly chopped)
• 1/4 C. golden raisins
• 1 t. cumin seeds (toasted and then crushed)
• 1/3 C. whole almonds (roasted, salted and roughly chopped)
• 1/4 C. fresh cilantro (roughly chopped)
• 1/8 to 1/4 C. fresh mint (roughly torn)
• 1 lemon (zested for 1 t. zest and juiced for 1 T. juice)

Instructions

1. Toast pearl couscous in a saucepan with 1 T. olive oil over moderate heat until couscous is lightly browned. This will take about 5 minutes. Slowly add 1 3/4 C. boiling water to the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Simmer for 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Set aside.
2. In a medium frying pan, fry cherry tomatoes in 1 T. olive oil. This will take 3-4 minutes. Stir the tomatoes a few times as you fry them. (I found that there was a lot of splatter, so I covered the pan with a see-through glass lid.) When the tomatoes start to brown and split open, remove from the heat and set aside. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the tomatoes.
3. Using the same pan (wiped clean), heat 3 T. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced/chopped onions, ras el hanout (if using), 1/8 t. salt. Fry for 10-12 minutes until the onions are golden brown and soft. Remove from heat. Stir in golden raisins and set aside.
4. Put cooled couscous in a large bowl and stir in onion/raisin mixture. Add cumin, almonds, cilantro, mint (to your taste), lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/4 t. salt and freshly-ground pepper to your taste.
5. Spoon couscous mixture onto a platter and top with cherry tomatoes. Garnish with fresh mint or cilantro.
6. Cook's Note: The use of ras el hanout is optional in this recipe. Ras el hanout is a North African spice. Roughly translated, the term means "head of the shop" and refers to a ground mixture of the best spices available--usually cardamon, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmegm mace and on and on.

Nutrition

Calories

3265 cal

Fat

206 g

Carbs

324 g

Protein

95 g

Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info

Almond Butter Cake with Cardamom and Baked Plums

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Ingredients

For Baked Plums
• 1 lb. 7 oz. whole red plums
• 1/2 C. dry white wine
• 1/2 C. plus 2 t. granulated sugar
• 10 cardamom pods (roughly crushed in a pestle and mortar) or 1 t. cardamom powder
• 1/4 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 long strip of orange peel
• 1/2 C. water
For Cake
• 8 oz. almond paste (broken into 4 or 5 pieces)
• 1 C. granulated sugar
• 1 C. plus 1 1/2 T. unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• Finely grated zest of one large orange (about 1 T.)
• 3/4 t. ground cardamom (freshly ground if possible)
• 6 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1/8 t. almond extract
• 1 C. plus 1 T. all-purpose flour
• 2 T. cornstarch
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. salt
• Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for topping

Instructions

To prepare the plums:
1. To bake the plums, wash plums and remove stems. Leave plums whole (but remember to warn your guests that the stones are still in the baked plums). Put plums in an 8-inch square baking dish.
2. Make the poaching liquid for the plums. Put white wine, sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, orange peel and water into a saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. When the poaching liquid boils, remove it from the heat and pour it over the plums. Cover the plums tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees F. for 20-40 minutes. The timing depends upon the size of the plums. When cooked you want the plums to be soft but whole. When baked, set the plums aside. You can serve them at room temperature but I liked them a whole lot better warm.
To prepare the cake:
3. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
4. Use a 9-inch bundt pan for this recipe. Prepare the pan by greasing it carefully to ensure that your cake comes out cleanly.
5. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, put the almond paste pieces into the mixer along with the sugar and beat the mixture for about three minutes at low speed. Add the room-temperature butter, orange zest and ground cardamom and continue to beat the mixture. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time to the almond paste mixture. Stop occasionally and scrape down the sides of your mixer bowl. Beat after each egg addition until the egg is well incorporated into the batter. Add almond extract and mix.
6. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt together. Then, mix the sifted dry mixture to the almond paste/egg batter until the dry ingredients are just mixed (low speed on your mixer). Do not overmix here.
7. Spoon the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake for 50-55 minutes at 350 degrees F. When you cake is done, you will be able to insert a skewer in the center of the cake and have the skewer come out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a cake plate.
8. This cake can be served warm or at room temperaure. You can either break up some of the baked plums and spoon them over the cake (with some of their juices) or you can serve a whole baked plum beside the slice of cake. Remember to warn your guests that the stones are still in the plums!
9. I served this with whipped cream but it would be wonderful served with vanilla ice cream. (See Easiest Vanilla Ice Cream recipe on Blue Cayenne. http://bluecayenne.com/easiest-vanilla-ice-cream). Sprinkle a bit of extra granulated sugar over the plums if you wish.