Florentines

Florentines (my version)

50g butter (I like slightly salted)

50g golden caster sugar

50g golden syrup 

50g plain flour or ground almonds

25g dried cranberries

25g sour cherries, finely chopped

25g dried apricots, chopped

25g blanched almonds, finely chopped

25g pecan pieces, finely chopped 

200g white chocolate 

Melt butter, sugar and golden syrup into a small pan over a low heat. Then stir in the flour and dried fruit and nuts.

On a baking sheet lined with baking parchment place small piles or the mix using two teaspoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 for bake for 8 minutes and remove from oven. Leave to cool for 5 minutes (not longer) and then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once totally cooled melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Then with a teaspoon, put a small amount of the chocolate onto the back of each  biscuit and using a fork to make a pattern of ridges through the melted chocolate. Leave to set on the rack chocolate side up. 

You can also substitute dried blueberries, dried melon, mango or pineapple. 

Couscous BesBes

BesBes is actually fennel and this dish used the leaf stems rather than the bulb. My family usually cut up the bulb and wash it and serve it as a dessert snack at the end of the meal to crunch on and it's actually very delicious. I am not a fan of fennel usually but this dish is my rock solid favourite thing ever!! 

Couscous BesBes

Two dried red chillies 

1dessert spoon ground caraway seeds

Three cloves of garlic roughly chopped 

1tsp Salt

Pound up together to make a paste in a pestle and mortar or if your like me blitz in food processed/chopper lightly. 

4 x Sundried tomatoes soaked in water and blitzed with a few tablespoons of water to make a watery paste. Add a couple of fresh chopped tomatoes to this paste. 

Fry in a generous amount if olive oil a chopped onion and green chilli add paste and tomato mix and 1tsp turmeric and fry all together.  

Meanwhile steam couscous over water for approx 10-15 mins.

My mother inlaw prepares the couscous prior to steaming by placing it in a large bowl, and running through with her hands a few tablespoons of water to coat the grains making sure they don't clump together. She then pops it in the steamer/colander over a large pan of boiling water. Once it's steamed for 10-15 mind tip the couscous back into the large bowl. 

Steam separately approx 500g of fennel tops with a small diced carrot and a hand full of peas and a bunch of spring onions or a medium chopped onion for about 7 minutes. Then top with the couscous back over the steamer whilst sauce is bubbling away. 

When the peas and carrots are tender. Tip couscous and greens into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Making sure the Fennel is really mixed through the couscous. Then add the sauce made from the spices etc and mix through the couscous until completely coated. 

Then serve.