Couscous and cucumber salad with lemon dressing

Day 1: Couscous and cucumber salad with lemon dressing

Serves 4

300g of couscous

400 mls of stock, hot

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tbs of lemon juice

2 tbs of good olive oil

A small bunch of mint, very finely chopped

Red onion, thinly sliced

Cucumber, chopped into small bite size pieces

Cherry tomatoes, quartered

A handfuls of rocket

8 flat breads or 4 pitta breads

Cover the couscous in the hot stock put on a lid and leave aside to soak.

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, crushed garlic and mint. Taste and season well.

Keep aside a little of the dressing for Wednesday. Toss together the couscous, onion, cucumber, tomatoes in the rest of the dressing until everything is coated.

Lay the rocket into bowls and spoon the couscous on top. Sprinkle with black pepper and serve with the flat breads.

Day 2: One pot pork and apples

Serves 4

400g of potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces

2 onions, sliced

8 whole cloves of garlic

a small dash of olive oil

400g of bitter apples

1/2 tbs of honey

1 tsp of chilli powder

4 large pork chops

a bunch of sage, chopped

Toss the potatoes, garlic and onion slices in the oil in an oven proof dish. Season and place into a medium oven for ten minutes.

Remove from the oven and add the apples, chilli, honey, pork chops and sage. Toss them all together and place back into the oven for a further 15 to 20 minutes, at a low heat, until the pork is cooked through and the apples and potatoes are soft.

Day 3: Nectarine and parma ham open sandwich

Serves 4

8 slices of good quality bread

4 tbs of ricotta cheese

8 slices of parma ham

4 nectarines, de stoned and sliced

3 handfuls of rocket

A small handful of mint, chopped

A drizzle of olive oil

A drizzle of honey

Dressing from Monday

Cover each slice of the bread in the ricotta and season gently. Put the slices of ham on top of each slice.

Lay a few leaves of rocket and nectarine pieces on top and drizzle with the olive oil and honey. Sprinkle with the mint and some more black pepper.

Toss the rest of the rocket in the lemon dressing from Monday and serve it on the side of the sandwich.

Day 4: Chicken noodle soup

Serves 4

Rice noodles for 4

A dash of sesame oil

2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped

2 breasts of chicken, thinly sliced

1 litre of stock

200mls of coconut milk

A thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 red chilli chopped

1 tsp of turmeric

1 tsp of honey

2 tbs of fish sauce

Juice of 1 lime

2 small bunches of pak choi, leaves separated and roughly chopped

A small bunch of coriander, chopped

Put the noodles on to boil and drain when ready. Set aside.

Heat the oil and fry the garlic and chicken until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside. Heat the stock and add the coconut milk, ginger, chilli, turmeric, honey, lime juice and fish sauce. Heat until simmering. Taste and season, add a little more of any flavouring if you wish.

Add the chicken, garlic, noodles and pac choi to the soup and bring to the boil. Serve with a sprinkling of coriander.

Day 5: Puy lentil salad with potatoes and a poached egg

Serves 4

400g of potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size cubes

6 tbs of olive oil

14 cloves of garlic, whole with the skins on a generous bunch of thyme, chopped

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

1 tbs of honey

225g of puy lentils

Stock

3 tbs of cider vinegar

4 eggs

A generous bunch of parsley, chopped crunchy bread for 4

Put the potatoes on to boil in lightly salted water and drain when half cooked.

Using the garlic cloves whole brings out the sweetness and the flavour is not as strong as chopping the garlic.

Toss the par boiled potatoes and cloves of garlic in a little of the olive oil in an oven proof dish. Add the honey, cinnamon and thyme. Place into a medium oven until the garlic has softened completely and the potatoes are cooked through.

Cover the lentils in stock and place a lid on the sauce pan. Leave to simmer away for about 30 minutes until the lentils are soft.

Chop two cloves of the roasted garlic until they are almost crushed. Add these to the remaining oil and the vinegar. Whisk, taste and season.

Add a generous drop of vinegar to a sauce pan of boiling water and poach your eggs until the white is cooked but the yolk is still soft.

Toss the potatoes, garlic and lentils in the dressing, making sure to get the juices from the pan that the potatoes were roasted in. Stir through the parsley and serve with a egg on top and bread on the side.

Michelle Darmody owns The Cake Cafe, The Daintree Building, Dublin 2, 01 4789394 www.thecakecafe.ie