"Would you like some clafoutis?" I ask a friend. He looks confused, perhaps running through his head the question in search of some sort of resolution. "Clafa-what?" he replies, looking nonplussed. I choose not to reply, because trying to explain myself with words would be an empty gesture. Instead I take out the dish of clafoutis and cut him a slice. He looks around it trying to make sense of what it is. "Are those...olives?" he asks in disbelief. "No. Cherries. Just eat,' I urge him on. I can see the sense of relief on his face. He likes it!

















Is there a better feeling in the world than cooking something people enjoy? Most of my friends wouldn't really know what I was referring to when asking if they'd like some clafoutis. Infact they'd think I was insane and/or masquerading as an Adria brother or a Blumenthal. I mean...olives? But that could work...hopefully. This clafoutis was a little less adventurous, giving an oriental (in the original sense of the term) spin on a traditional French dessert. Unlike some recipes I've seen, I quite like a barely set centre. Overcooking this dessert is sin. I also pitted the cherries and let them marinade in an orange blossom mixture for a few hours. Anyway, here's the recipe.

















Ingredients
300g cherries pitted
1 1/2 tablespoons orange blossom water
a swig of white wine vinegar
300ml milk
3 large eggs
80g caster sugar
60g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
icing sugar for serving

















Method
Pit the cherries and place them in a bowl with 20 grams of sugar, the orange blossom water and the vinegar. Cover them and let them sit for a few hours. Lightly butter a baking dish and place the cherries at the bottom. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Beat the eggs and the remaining sugar together until pale. Add the milk, salt and vanilla extract. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter over the cherries and bake for 30-40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Let it cool down before sprinkling the icing sugar on top and then it's ready to serve!

So how does one alter the idea of what moghrabieh can do as an ingredient? One must seek inspiration from his stomach, of course. A few blog posts ago I said my gluttony was firmly skewed towards the savoury polar extreme and I'm here outing myself as a liar. I'm a glutton, nothing else. Sweet, savoury, bitter, sour...Absolutely anything. I'll try the vast majority of things for that new kick (balut excluded). I subscribe to Anthony Bourdain's philosophy - being a picky-eater is such a first-world luxury. But I guess you can argue that so is haute cuisine. Moderation is the key and we all know it. It's just hard to admit it.

















In search of a sweet kick I went to the dark side. I used moghrabieh to make a dessert. I know, it doesn't sound right. But what's right, right? Anyway, the cherries were infused with Orange Blossom and the moghrabieh flavoured with vanilla and oranges. This was much more delicious than I'd anticipated but it possibly needs some tweaking. Any ideas? Maybe chocolate pieces?

Ingredients
handful of cherries
glug of orange blossom water
vanilla pod
one medium orange zested
two handfuls of moghrabieh
milk
water
cream if you're feeling indulgent
sugar
sprig of mint to garnish

















Method
Remove the stones from the cherries and sprinkle with sugar and pour on the orange blossom water. Leave in the fridge for an hour before making the dessert. Initially place the moghrabieh and a glass or so of milk and the opened and scraped vanilla pod in a pan. Gently heat until the moghrabieh is nearly fully cooked and then add the cherries. You may need to add water to thin it out if it's getting too thick. Cook until the moghrabieh is tender. You might want to stir every two or three minutes. Turn off the heat when cooked and add the cream and orange zest. Serve in a bowl with the mint and voila!

Next up on this blog: something for the carnivores.