Well, the sun is shining and summer is definitely on the way. I always know we're nearly there when the Wisteria flowers appear (see above!).
So, my fourth, and probably final lunch recipe for now, is another from Jo Pratt's In the Mood for Food. I really wanted to try out a couscous recipe as part of my lunch challenge and so I made Meditterranean Vegetable Couscous.
This was another lovely recipe and easy to put together. It's not quite an "all in one bowl" recipe as you do of course have to roast the veggies in the oven, but that wasn't too much of a hardship and worth it for the end result.
Mediterranean Vegetable Couscous
(adapted from In the Mood for Food by Jo Pratt)
1 small red pepper
1 large or 2 small courgettes
1 small aubergine (I got a regular sized one - they were all the same price and I wanted to get my money's-worth!)
2 red onions
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
about 20 cherry tomatoes
200g couscous
1 1/2 tablespoons green pesto
1-2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
a handful of stoned black olives
a few torn basil leaves or some rocket leaves
1) Preheat the oven to 200c, gas 6
2) Chop up the pepper, courgette, aubergine and onions and toss in a roasting tray with a tablespoon of olive oil. Season and roast for 25 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes (I left mine a bit longer - I like my veg well roasted). Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
3) Put the couscous in a large bowl and pour over 350ml boiling water. Stir, cover with cling film and leave for 10 minutes. Fluff up with a fork and leave to cool.
4) Mix together the remaining tablespoon of oil with the pesto and balsamic vinegar. Add this to the vegetables then toss it all together with the couscous. Mix in the basil or rocket leaves.
I'm with you on roasting vegetables. They have to have those dark caramelised edges. Yum. I also love cous cous. I usually make it with a lemon and pepper dressing.
ReplyDelete