Bon Appétit

Cooking good food is not at all as difficult as most people believe it is; well not if you have Master Chef aspirations of creating complex gourmet dishes. I’m talking about unpretentious good food made of simple ingredients that can be found at any grocery aisle. Healthy food that can be enjoyed guilt free because of its wholesome low GI content.

Here are two simple and wholesome recipes to explore:  

 Chilli couscous con carne and Poached Almond and Chocolate Pears, (yes chocolate in moderation and especially dark chocolate is wholesome)

  Couscous Con Carne

Shopping list:

Box couscous, 1tin red kidney beans,  2handfulls of lean ground beef, cooking oil, salt,  ¼ onion, pinch of masala/curry powder, teaspoon garlic, sachet  tomatoe paste (about 30grams),  a spoon paprika, a cup of beef stock, coriander to garnish.

Method:

Coat a frying pan with a dash of oil, sauté onions until brown, add ground beef, garlic, curry powder and continue to fry lightly.

Once fried, add stock, tomatoe paste, paprika, salt and pepper and the drained red kidney beans. The consistency of the meat sauce should be moderately thick.

Prepare the couscous last as it cooks super quick….see instructions on the box of couscous.

Serving:

Spoon the fluffed up couscous onto the centre of a plate and then add the meat dish onto it. In the centre add a dollop of plain or Bulgarian yoghurt (as a cool contrast to the spiciness) and a sprig of coriander.

Poached pears:

1pear per person, cinnamon stick or spice, vanilla essence, dark chocolate, hand full of roasted almond nuts, 4 cups boiling water

Method

 Peel the pears and remove the cores, cut them in half and put them in a pot of boiling water, add the cinnamon and vanilla essence and cook them on low heat until the pears are very soft (about 7minutes)

To melt the chocolate, use the bain-marie method to ensure the chocolate does not harden during while melting..

Finely chop chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl that fits snuggly in a saucepan (this stops water spraying into the chocolate).

Half-fill saucepan with water and bring to a simmer. Place bowl on top, making sure it doesn't touch water (or it will overheat).

Stir with a metal spoon until melted. Avoid wooden or plastic spoons - these retain moisture that makes chocolate harden

Take a pear half, dip into the melted chocolate and then dish onto a side plate with the round side facing up. Sprinkle with crushed almonds and serve with dollops of vanilla yoghurt.