SEMOLINA GOES SWISH

I was incredibly sensible with my dinner decision making skills tonight, opting for a healthy salad to somewhat counteract the guilty pangs I was feeling after some not-so-healthy weekend escapades.  Well... at least, in my head, eating a salad for dinner on a freezing cold Monday night whilst thawing out in front of the heater and simultaneously watching a cooking show on television is a totally justifiable and effective method for undoing the done.

It was no surprise to myself, then, that instantly after my (second) helping of salad I had an enormous appetite for hot, sweet, and fulfilling.  Not that my salad wasn't fulfilling - it was most incredibly delicious - but I knew from the outset I was fooling myself and without any hesitation I gave into the sweet tooth craving and whipped up some fancy semolina.

This stuff will be prevalent in many childhood memories, either in a positive light (depending on your parent's cooking abilities) or in a horribly traumatic light.  I am lucky to only ever have had good experiences with semolina and still get intense cravings for it once in a while.  Now that I am a grown up (most of the time) and can decide what I want to eat, when I want to eat it, I have given this purified wheat an R-18 makeover that is guaranteed to always hit the spot.

semolina porridge with rosewater

  2 1/2 cups full cream milk

  1/4 cup semolina

  15g butter

  3tbsp caster sugar

  2tbsp rosewater syrup

serving suggestions

  stewed blueberries, crushed amaretti biscuits

  cinnamon, sugar, milk (omit rosewater)

  flaked pistachios, raspberry puree

Place milk, butter and sugar in a large, heavy based saucepan.  Gently bring to the boil, stirring occasionally as to not burn the milk.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low and whisk the liquid in a circular motion.  Slowly add the semolina in a steady stream whilst continuously whisking and continue to do so for a further 3-4 minutes or until the mixture begins to thicken.  Once the semolina starts to absorb the liquid and swell in size, remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside with the lid on for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to check the consistency (as it will continue to cook).  Don't let it become too gluggy, rather slightly runny but thick.

Serve immediately with a light pour of rosewater syrup and your choice of toppings - for the sake of the below picture as well as my tastebuds, tonight I went with stewed berries and crushed amaretti biscuits.  Serves 2.