Couscous Dried Fruit Salad
Preparation 10 Minutes
Cook 15 Minutes
Serves 8 – 10 as a side
Method
Rinse the couscous under cold, running water. Add to a saucepan with 750ml water, bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 mins or until soft. Drain and rinse under running water and set aside to cool completely.
Whisk together olive oil and lemon juice, season and pour over the cooled couscous. Toss to coat.
Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon into a presentation bowl to serve.
This salad can be served cold or at room temperature.
Moghrabieh can be substituted for Israeli (pearl) couscous. Simply follow the cooking instructions on the packet as they can vary.
Ingredients
360g uncooked moghrabieh (Lebanese couscous)*
60ml olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
135g pitted Angas Park Medjool Dates, chopped
100g Sunbeam Raisins
120g Angas Park Dried Apricots, chopped
130g Angas Park Dried Figs, chopped
60g Sunbeam Slivered Almonds, toasted
½ small bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Recipe Collection
Easter Fruit Loaf
Preheat oven to 180°C
Dough:
- Sift self raising flour, bi-carb soda, mixed spice and castor sugar into a large bowl. Pour in buttermilk and mix with a butter knife to combine. Tip onto a floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Roll out to a 40cm x 30cm rectangle.
- Cream butter, sugar and vanilla essence until light and fluffy. Thinly spread creamed butter mix over dough and sprinkle evenly with almond meal. Combine all the fruit in a small bowl and spread on top of the almond meal.
- Roll into a loaf, place on a greased paper lined oven tray and set aside for 15 minutes to allow dough to rise.
- Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. When cool, ice and sprinkle with toasted flaked almonds.
Icing:
- Combine sifted icing sugar with boiling water.
Christmas Cheesecake
Preaheat oven 160 degrees (140 degrees fan).
- Brush base and sides of 25cm springform pan with butter.
- Process biscuits, extra melted butter and almond meal in a food processor until fine crumb. Press into base and sides of pan.
- Combine ricotta, cream cheese, sugar, cornflour, butter, eggs and vanilla bean paste in food processor. Blend for 2 mins then fold through sour cream and fruit.
- Pour filling over base, cover with foil and bake for 1.5 hours. Remove cake from oven, allow to come to room temperature before refrigerating overnight.
To make Toffee
- Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread nuts evenly over tray.
- Add sugar to a medium, heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until sugar completely dissolves then remove from heat immediately and pour over nuts.
- Sprinkle with sea salt flakes then allow to set. Serve cheesecake topped with shards of broken nut toffee.
Sticky Date Christmas Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce
TO MAKE THE PUDDING
1. Combine dates, mixed fruit, 280ml water, sugars, salt and butter in large saucepan. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 8 mins.
2. Add bicarbonate of soda, stir well and allow to cool completely (preferably overnight).
3. Once completely cool, add eggs, flours, spices and rum. Mix well.
4. Generously grease inside the pudding bowl. Pour the mixture into tin then cover with a layer of baking paper and a layer of foil and secure tightly with kitchen string.
5. Place a small cooling rack or an upturned oven-safe dish into the base of a large saucepan. Place pudding bowl on top so that it is not directly touching the bottom of the pan. Fill saucepan with boiling water to come half way up the sides of the pudding bowl. Bring water to the boil then reduce heat to low, cover and allow to simmer for 3 hours. Remove pudding from water, allow to cool completely before removing pudding from tin.
TO MAKE SAUCE
1. Combine cream, butter and sugar in a saucepan. Stir over a low heat until all ingredients combined.
2. Stir in salt.
Sunbeam Spiced Christmas Cake
In a large bowl, combine mixed fruit, cherries, nuts, apple, golden syrup and liquor. Mix well, cover and allow to stand overnight (or up to 24 hours for amazing flavour).
Preheat oven to 150ºC (130ºC fan forced). Very generously grease the bundt tin, ensuring butter is in all creases.
Add sugar and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a beater attachment. Beat until fluffy and pale. With the motor running, add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated before adding the next.
Add flour and spices, beat on low until just combined. Add orange zest and soaked fruit mixture and beat until just combined.
In a small bowl mix together orange juice and bicarbonate of soda, add to the cake batter and beat until just incorporated.
Spoon batter into the prepared bundt tin, using a spatula to press mixture into any crevices and flatten the surface.
Bake for 2 ¼ to 2 ½ hours or until the cake springs back when gently pressed in the centre. Allow cake to cool in the tin for an hour then invert onto a baking rack to remove and allow to cool completely.
Rum and Raisin Fudge
Lightly grease and line base and sides of a 20cm square baking tin.
Combine raisins and rum in a small bowl and allow to soak for 10 mins.
In a medium saucepan combine sweetened condensed milk, butter, sugar and golden syrup and constantly stir over a low heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, stir constantly for about 8-10 mins until the temperature reaches between 113-115ºC.*
Remove pan from heat, add chocolate melts and soaked raisins and stir to combine. Transfer to prepared tin using a spatula to smooth the surface then allow to cool at room temperature for 5-6 hours until firm.
Cut into 5cm long slices then cut each slice into 8 rectangles.
If you don’t own a candy thermometer, you can also check if the fudge is ready by taking a small amount and dropping it into a glass of cold water. When the mixture sets into a soft ball that doesn’t stick to your fingers when gently pinched, the fudge is ready. This is referred to as “soft ball” stage.
Walnut Sultana Zucchini Carrot Cake
Preheat oven to 180ºC (160ºC fan). Grease and line base and sides of two x 22.5cm (9”) round baking tins.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with beater attachment, combine zucchini, carrot, flour, sugar, 50g of walnuts, sultanas and spices. Mix on low until just combined.
Whisk together oil and eggs then add to the zucchini mixture and beat on low until just combined. Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins, smoothing the surfaces. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in tins for an hour, then invert onto a baking rack to cool completely.
To make the icing, combine butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Whisk until smooth. Add sifted icing sugar and whisk until smooth and fluffy.
To decorate, spread half the icing on top of one cake. Arrange the second cake on top and spread with remaining icing. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts to decorate.
