Harissa Cauliflower Pilaf

First thing to admit here is that this recipe is straight out of Good Food Magazine so I’m not calling it my own and the only thing I changed is I removed Dill because, well Dill is awful stuff but each to their own eh

Now whilst I’m not averse to meat free meals, I haven’t really posted many veggie dishes and although I do try to eat less meat it’s usually some form of curry that bubbles away on the stove

These days though you can’t move for vegan and veggie evangelists urging people to go more plant based. To be fair they have a point, too much meat is not good for you or the planet. I suppose one the best things to come out of this new movement is the range of plant based dishes is ever expanding, which can only be a good thing , right?

Roasting the Cauliflower first gives a nice crunchy texture and adds a nuttiness to the dish that works well with the sweeter elements and its tied together with that spicy harissa kick

300g Basmati Rice

1 Red onion finely sliced

2 Lemons, 1 juiced, 1 cut into wedges

2 tsp sugar

4 tbsp Harissa

1 Garlic clove crushed

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Large or 2 Medium Cauliflower, broken into large florets and stalk chopped, Large leaves roughly chopped

Pinch of Saffron

2 Bay leaves

700 ml Vegetable stock

100g Sultanas

100g Flaked Almonds, toasted until golden brown

400g Chickpeas, drained and rinsed

50g Pomegranate seeds

Wash the rice really well then leave to soak for at least an hour

Put the onion, sugar with a pinch of salt and toss in the lemon juice, leave to pickle

Heat the oven to 200C. Whisk 2 tbsp of the harissa the garlic and the oil in a large bowl then add the cauliflower and toss till its all coated. Season then tip into a roasting tin, roast for 20 mins until golden brown

Meanwhile mix the saffron, bay leaves, stock and the rest of the harissa, keep on a low heat whilst the cauli roasts

Remove the cauli from the oven, tip into a dish and squeeze over the juice of one lemon wedge. Drain the rice and tip into the roasting tin, pour over the stock and mix well, stir in the sultanas, half the almonds, the chickpeas and half the cauliflower. Cover the tin with a double layer of foil, sealing well then bake for 30 mins until the rice is tender and the stock is absorbed.

Fluff up the rice with a fork, then fold in the remaining cauliflower. Scatter over the remaining almonds and the pomegranate seeds. The sprinkle on the pickled onions and squeeze the remaining Lemon Wedges

Sausage, Nduja and Fennel Pasta

I’ll be honest Ndjua is a new thing to me, in fact I’ve only been aware that it’s “A Thing” for a couple of years now. If you too are unaware of its existence, I’ll try to explain. Nduja is a spicy Italian spreadable salami, I’ve only seen it in Jars, but I guess it probably comes in a traditional salami shape as well. The taste is sweet spicy and carries herbal note that I can’t quite explain but safe to say it’s very very tasty but in moderation. My previous exposure had been on a pizza, pretty much mostly pizza outlets have whacked on a bit of Nduja because apparently its rather on trend or maybe not, to be frank, I really don’t care.

Right then, my creation. As mentioned, pizza seems to be the vehicle of choice and I wanted to try something different but sticking to the Italian theme I opted for Pasta.

Using the Nduja as a sauce ingredient I bolstered the meat content with some actual bona fide sausage, to add depth I went for the usual wine for piquancy plus fennel to add depth and an interesting background flavour. The result is a moderately spicy pasta that’s slightly sweet, and herby with a tang at the end to make you want more.

Ingredients – 4 People

4 Good quality Pork Sausages

2 heaped teaspoons of Nduja Paste

1 teaspoon of Ground Fennel seeds

1 Carrot finely chopped

Half a Celery stalk finely chopped

Half a glass of white whine

1 Tablespoon of tomato puree

1 Medium size onion diced

2 cloves of Garlic finely chopped

500 ml of Chicken Stock

Pasta of your choice – I went with Fusilli

Remove the skin from the sausages and break into small chunks

In a large frying pan gently brown the sausage bits and then remove from the pan placing to one side

Add the chopped onion, season and gently fry until soft. Turn up the heat, add the Carrot, Celery, Fennel and Garlic , season again and fry for 1-2 minutes. Now stir through the Nduja until well combined. Add the tomato puree, cook for a 30 seconds or so, then stir well to make sure all ingredients are combined. Add the wine and using a wooden spoon or spatula make sure you get all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan released, continue until the wine has all but evaporated and stir in the stock and add a little more seasoning

Bring to a slow simmer then add back in the browned sausage, once simmering again partly cover and cook for 20-30 mins , until the carrots are soft. Once cooked, check again for seasoning

When the sauce is about 10 mins away (or cooked, you can leave it to simmer gently) bring a pan of water to the boil, add plenty of salt and cook the pasta to instructions. If your sauce looks a little dry whilst the pasta Is cooking put a ladle of the pasta water into the sauce, stir well and it should look luxuriously silky again

Drain the pasta well and in the pan add a good glug of olive oil plus a lot of black pepper. Stir well.

At this point you can either ladle the sauce into the pan with the cooked pasta, stir well and serve. Or you can dish out pasta onto plates/bowls and ladle sauce on top.

Finish each dish with a grated parmesan and chopped basil