Little more than a week after we entertained Beth in our home, the adventure girl did some serious damage to her foot while rock climbing! She'll be stuck in hospital for several weeks, with surgery and months of recovery to come. After hearing the news on Tuesday afternoon, a small delegation was swiftly organised to visit her for lunch on Wednesday - apparently the hospital food is depressingly bland. As I walked home on Tuesday evening, I racked my brain for some small but flavour-packed offering that I could throw together without too much fuss. A most successful solution came from ingredients already in the cupboard after I made a crucial connection between Beth's habitual work-time snacking on dried fruits and the bag of dried cherries that I impulsively purchased at the Queen Vic markets and had yet to use. Combined with pistachios and dark chocolate, I would be guaranteed little mouthfuls of vibrant colour; crunchy, chewy and smooth textures; tart sweetness, rich cocoa and a hint of the exotic. One taste (for research purposes, you understand!) confirmed that as long as these dried cherries are available, my relationship with the Cherry Ripe bar is over. I've moved on and I'm seeing someone else now! He might not be as well-groomed, but he's got a lot more substance. It might have been the morphine talking, but Beth was just as intrigued and subsequently won over. She even detected the hint of rose!Crunchy chewy chocolate clusters
100g dark chocolate
2/3 cup pistachios
1/3 cup dried cherries
a pinch of salt
1/3 cup dessicated coconut
a drop of rosewater
Gently melt the chocolate in a saucepan. While it's melting, combine the pistachios, cherries and salt in a bowl. When the chocolate's ready add the rosewater and stir through the coconut. Finally mix through the cherries and pistachios.
Cover a baking tray with foil and drop teaspoons-full of the mixture onto it. Use a second teaspoon to push the stray bits together if you need to. Refrigerate the clusters for about an hour, or just freeze 'em for 10 minutes if you're in a rush.
Store these in a cool place so they don't melt but don't worry too much - they'll be gobbled up pretty quick!
This looks Gorgeous. I love how you congered this up from what was in your cupboard.
ReplyDeleteI'm just lucky I had those cherries in the pantry - they're a bit more exotic than what's usually hanging around in there. :-)
ReplyDeleteYour friend is a lucky lass to have such thoughtful friends around her! Even if I were to break my foot, my lack of cooking friends would mean I'd have to make my own choc clusters! In which case, I'd better just make 'em myself now ;)
ReplyDeleteEllie, I think making food for others is my primary (only) method for showing I care! The funniest bit was watching Mich sprawled over a vacant hospital bed, Lygon St's finest deli produce all around her, constructing Beth a gourmet ciabatta roll. :D
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, chocolatey little clusters. Pistachios and cherries - how divine.
ReplyDeleteLucky friend!
I'm sure it was nice to eat Cindy, the combination sounds good. But to be honest, it's not much to look at :-).
ReplyDeleteLucy, they are probably a little extravagant to keep in the pantry all the time but definitely a great treat!
ReplyDeleteThanh7580, when there's visible chocolate involved, suddenly I don't care as much about a sleek and sophisticated look. :-)
I agree, Cindy - I don't care what it looks like. Picnic isn't much to look at either, but nonetheless is delicious :-) It looks divine! I'm actually going to refrain from making them, because if I do, I will literally eat them all in one sitting.
ReplyDeleteMel, I must admit I was tempted to do the same. :-) Best to make sure there's another eater or three to ensure you don't demolish the lot!
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful combination, sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brilynn! It's nice to have a visit from you. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Cindy - just wanted to say that we had a go at these last night and they were snaffled up! We didn't have any luck finding the dried cherries, so we had some experimentation with dried cranberries, dried strawberries and glace cherries. Thanks for sharing your delicious and easy idea! I look forward to keeping my eyes peeled for the real dried cherries and trying it again.
ReplyDeleteThat's great, Frances! The fruit/nut combination is really flexible... crystalised ginger is good too. :-)
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