Israeli Couscous with Cherries & Pistachios | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Israeli Couscous with Cherries & Pistachios** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

There’s been a lot of cooking lately, not that you could tell by the sporadic posts around these parts. The trouble with cooking is that a recipe that looks amazing on Pinterest turns out to be a dud. Case in point: the overly salty falafel I made earlier this week. Sometimes it’s me though, and I discover that fish tacos were never meant to be eaten like nachos. That there is a reason you don’t see them on menus, genius. Sigh.

All that is to say – there is quality control around here, it just means that when I hit a rough patch like I have the past few weeks I post less frequently than I’d like while I fiddle around getting things just right. My goal is only to share recipes I’d be proud to serve, or pass along to my friends, like this one here.

This essentially a pasta salad made a little fancy with additions like crumbled goat cheese and toasted pistachios. It also offers a little bit of a departure from the classic vinaigrette or mayonnaise-based dressings by incorporating pomegranate molasses.

If you’re wondering where on earth you’ll get pomegranate molasses the way I did when I first saw it in the ingredient list, let me reassure you. It’s easy to make it yourself by simmering plain pomegranate juice with a little sugar and fresh lemon juice until it reduces and thickens. I actually did it a few weeks ago following this recipe from Fine Cooking and it works perfectly, I bet it would also work with plain cranberry juice too if pomegranate isn’t available.

Israeli Couscous Salad with Cherries & Pistachios (serves 6-8 as a side)

Ingredients:
2 cups Israeli couscous (pearl pasta)
1/4 cup Pomegranate Molasses
2 1/2 teaspoons champagne vinegar
1/2 teaspoon raspberry vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turbinado sugar (aka Sugar in the Raw)
2 cups dried cherries
1/2 cup toasted pistachios
1 1/2 cups, packed fresh parsley and mint leaves
2 ounces crumbled plain goat cheese
4 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves

Instructions:
In a medium sauce pan, bring two cups of salted water to a low boil, then add the couscous and simmer on medium heat for 5-7 minutes, or according to the package directions until al dente.

While the couscous is cooking, whisk together the pomegranate molasses, champagne vinegar, raspberry vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, sugar and salt.

When the couscous is done, drain through a fine mesh sieve and place in a large mixing bowl. Pour the vinaigrette over while the pasta is still warm and stir together. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, toast the pistachios in a dry skillet over low heat, chop the herbs and crumble the goat cheese. When the couscous is cooled to room temperature, stir in the prepped ingredients. Add the baby spinach just before serving.

Rewritten and adapted from Couscous Salad with Fresh Cherries by Ashley Rodriguez of Not Without Salt.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes! I needed a medium sauce pan, mesh sieve, medium bowl, and a small sauté pan. A cutting board, chef’s knife, measuring spoons, a liquid measuring cup, and a large mixing spoon. That’s it!

The Verdict:
I made a few changes to the original to reflect our preferences, a slight softening of the vinegar bite with a touch of raw sugar. A sprinkle of toasted pistachios to continue the Middle Eastern flavors, a generous crumble of goat cheese to balance against the tart cherries, a handful or so of baby spinach to bring the dish more firmly into the realm of salad. All told, this is a great side to serve during the final grilling parties of the summer and is simple to whip up in just a few minutes. My kind of recipe!

Cherry & Blueberry Buckle | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Cherry & Blueberry Buckle** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

The theme of red, dessert-related treats continues today mainly because I over-did it a little on the cherry related purchases last week. They were just so gorgeous looking that I bought a giant bag, so here we are with more cherries to eat. Thankfully, we were invited to a brunch party over the weekend, so I volunteered to bring the coffee cake and thus had a perfect excuse to make Cherry & Blueberry Buckle.

I was inspired by a recipe I found on Seven Spoons, and I knew immediately that it would be the perfect stand-in for a traditional coffee cake. I’m not entirely sure what a pastry chef would consider the difference between a buckle and a coffee cake since both involve fruit and a streusel topping, so I just decided to go with it.

Seven Spoons’ recipe was loosely adapted from this Blueberry Buckle recipe by Salt Water Farms for Bon Appétit. Coincidentally, SWF offers an entire class on fruit desserts entitled Cobblers, Buckles and Grunts. Doesn’t that sound like heaven? Maybe this is my opportunity to go to Maine and learn about the entire spectrum of fruit-related sweets….

Just in case Maine isn’t in the cards this year we can still channel a summery, New England treat at home. I partially followed both recipes noted above (my adaptation below) and the results were delicious.

I promise I’m not tooting my own horn here – Mike and my partners-in-brunch can corroborate that it was pretty awesome. Sweet, fragrant, and packed with fruit it was especially good served still warm from the oven.

I have future plans for this recipe involving other fruits: apricots, perhaps? or tart cherries? I’d love to try it in muffin form or perhaps with the addition of a scoop of vanilla or blueberry ice cream? The possibilities seem endless….

Cherry & Blueberry Buckle (yield: one buckle, serves 6-8 ppl)

Sugar & Spice Topping Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" pieces

Buckle Ingredients:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) room temperature unsalted butter, plus more for pan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk

6 ounces (1 ¼ cups) fresh or thawed blueberries

10 ounces (2 cups) pitted, roughly chopped black cherries

Special Items:

9” spring form pan

parchment paper

Sugar & Spice Topping Instructions:

In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and salt. Add diced butter and combine with your fingers until mixture comes together to form a texture like damp sand; refrigerate until needed.

Buckle Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°. To prepare the pan butter the inside of a 9” spring form cake pan and place a disk of parchment paper cut to size in the bottom. Butter the parchment paper and dust the interior of the pan with flour. Tap out any excess flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk baking powder, salt, and flour.

In a separate medium bowl, beat sugar and room temperature butter using an electric mixer on high speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla just to combine, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients in stages, then milk; mix just to combine.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries and diced cherries. Don’t be stingy with the fruit, if you have a few extra berries or cherries – add them in! Spoon batter into prepared pan, smooth top, and place pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Evenly crumble sugar and spice topping over.

Bake until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 75–90 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool before unmolding and serving.

Small Kitchen Friendly?

Yes, to a degree. The recipe as written calls for three medium bowls, an electric mixer, measuring cups & spoons, a spring form pan, and a cookie sheet.

However, if bowls are limited it would be easy to switch the order of prep and re-use the dry ingredient bowl to make the topping. If a fancy presentation isn’t essential – and this is a rustic type of cake – then using a regular cake pan or muffin tins would be a solid option too.

And, don't forget Food52's genius cherry pitting DIY - I used it again, still works!