Cheffactor

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Win the once in a lifetime opportunity to study at Ballymaloe cookery School with Rachel Allen and become a super fantastico Chef extraordinaire!

I was at the launch of Cheffactor this week in the Westbury - sponsored by the lovely Cully & Sully, who were there in person. We watched a cookery demonstration by Ivan Whelan - the chef behind most of the Cully and Sully recipes. He cooked some lamb steaks with saffron and pink pepper cous cous - served with Bernnaise Sauce and rainbow chard and white turnip. Lots of great exotic ingredients - also an amazing chocolate mint - that tasted like an after eight. Ivan informed us that these amazing herbs were all grown in the organic farm that is part of the Ballymaloe School - I was impressed to say the least.

This video pretty much explains it all

Whilst sampling this great food the competition was explained to us. It's pretty simple, you have to upload a beautiful picture of you and your signature dish - photo to include the Cully and Sully logo. Then write a small paragraph about your dish and another paragraph about your dish. Then there will be a public vote - 2 finalists are chosen this way  -and another finalist is chosen by Cully & Sully.

The final sees the three contestants cook their dish for the panel which included Darina and Rachel Allen - gasp! Then somebody is crowned champion and goes to live at the cookery School for 12 weeks. They also get a set of professional knives to help them on their way.

So what a prize - I'll def be entering -I was thinking of using this photo to enter?

Me & Sully! Now I'm a great fan of the giant ham sandwich, but it may not be enough to impress Darina Allen, so it's back to the drawing board I guess!

Saffron Spiced Bulgur Pilaf with Pomegranate

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Anti-oxidant Rich and Quick

So I have a quick hour to prepare some dinner after work before nipping off to rehearsal. I’d also like some food for my lunch tomorrow, so decide to make up a kind of fancy bulgur pilaf. Something full on flavour and light on time. You can substitute the bulgur for cous-cous, quinoa or rice if you have them handy.

Ingredients
2 as a main - 3 as a side
1 cup of bulgur wheat
5 strands of saffron
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 small red onion - finely diced
2 small cloves of garlic crushed
2 teaspoons of poppy seeds
1 large handful of cashews
1 handful of raisins
1/2 pomegranate - seeds
big pinch of garam masala

In a pan - add one cupful of hot water to the saffron strands, crush the strands gently with a wooden spoon to release the colour. Leave to steep while you prepare the rest of your dinner.

Fry the onion, in a non-stick pan, for two minutes over a medium heat for a few minutes before adding in the garlic. Cook until the onion is translucent. Stir in the garam masala and cook for another minute. Stir in the bulgur wheat until coated with oil, then add in the saffron water, and then another cup of water. Bring to a simmer and cook for three minutes, add a little more water if this begins to stick.

Stir in the seeds, raisins and cashew nuts when you think it’s cooked. A big bunch of freshly chopped parsley would be great stirred in here, or some fresh coriander if you have some. Stir in the pomegranate seeds when off the heat, reserve a few more for garnish.

This makes a great side to serve alongside baked sweet potatoe falafel or hummus, or alongside some sticky ginger roast chicken legs. It would be a great little dish to bring along to a picnic or buffet lunch. The yellow from the saffron and the red little jewels of pomegranate seeds make it a very pretty side dish. I served it with some carrots that I parboiled and then glazed with honey and balsamic vinegar and popped under the grill to get rich and brown.