May, and the May issue of Delicious, brought the librarycook a dilemma. The weather was still unseasonably warm. Two recipes appealed almost equally. So, would it be the still quite summery Chicken and Lemon Tagine with Pomegranate Couscous, or the more wintery Cauli Cheese Pasta Bake with Crispy Sage? Luckily, May came to the rescue, bringing first warmth and sun, and then almost arctic conditions the following week.
The librarycook would make both dishes. Masterchef winner Diana Chan’s take on the tagine with couscous was first up, and went straight to the librarycook’s heart – first, a 30-minute marinating time, and then an hour in the oven. That’s an hour and a half of quality reading time, even taking into account a fairly minimal amount of chopping and other distractions. It was good too – a flavourful mix of spices, olives, preserved lemon, alongside a herb-filled couscous.
And then winter finally arrived. With temperatures dropping, what better time for a comforting pasta bake, especially if it also featured cauliflower. And cheese. Smoked cheese, actually. There may have been Parmesan, and cream. The librarycook never claims to be calorie conscious. But in the warmth of indoors, with the snow piling up outside, taste-wise, the bake was a winner. More importantly, though, how did it stack up in terms of reading time? Not so well. Pasta had to be cooked. Cauliflower blanched. A cheese sauce made.
There was half an hour in the oven, but a conscientious librarycook would have used that time to clear up. But a couple of chapters vs. the washing up? What do you think?
The May issue of Delicious is available at 641.5 DEL.
