Roasted Vegetable and Chickpea Couscous

It's getting a lot colder where I live now, so it's time to start thinking of alternatives to salad for lunch. It's not good to eat too many raw foods in cold weather, as it takes a lot more of your body's warmth and energy to digest than food that has been cooked. So it's time to put lots of quick and easy cooked meals on the menu. Couscous is a great option - cooks in a few minutes and can be combined with a whole range of different ingredients. Roasted pumpkin and parsnips with cooked chickpeas make this dish almost completely cooked and thus easier on your digestive system.

Ingredients

2 cups instant couscous

2 ½ cups vegetable stock

1/4 cup sunflower seeds, toasted*

1 parsnip, peeled and diced
200g pumpkin, peeled and diced
1 large cucumber, chopped
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 tin chickpeas)

6-7 dates, chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Salt to taste

* Toasting! There are 2 ways to do this 1) Spread the seeds on a tray and toast under a grill for 2-3 minutes until slightly browned – keep a close eye on the suckers because they are really easy to burn. 2) Heat a little bit of oil in a non stick pan and then slightly fry the seeds for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

To Make
1. Place the chopped pumpkin and parsnip in a bowl or baking dish and coat with oil. Transfer to a tray (if you had it in a bowl) and roast in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes, or until soft and completely cooked.
2. Put the instant couscous in a bowl.  Add the hot stock and stir with a fork. Leave it for about 5 minutes to soak up all the liquid and then go back and fluff it up with the fork.
3. When the couscous is dry and fluffy add the the rest of the ingredients and mix well. You can also drizzle in some of the oil from the baking tray.
4. Serve with extra chopped coriander, if desired.

Serves 4.

Chilli Free Black Eyed Bean, Pumpkin and Fennel Curry with Turmeric Couscous

It’s a fact that some people out there in the world think that they don’t like chilli. I know, it’s crazy, but there you have it. However, this shouldn’t mean that they can’t enjoy curry! Because curry is really delicious and super easy to make. So this recipe is dedicated to those out there who don’t like chilli, in a hope that they will love curry too! On the other hand, if you are a chilli fiend then feel free to add some dried or fresh chilli to this curry when you add the other spices.

Ingredients:

The Curry:

Olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chaat masala (or substitute garam masala)

½ tsp ground roasted fenugreek (for instructions on making your own out of whole seeds see this recipe)

1 tsp turmeric

3 cardamom pods, whole

1 tbsp apricot jam

½ fennel bulb, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

3 cups vegetable stock

3 carrots, roughly chopped

2 potatoes, chopped

400g pumpkin, peeled and chopped

1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk

5 Brussels Sprouts, quartered

2 cups black eyed beans, pre boiled (ie. cover with water and boil for about 30 minutes or until softened but not mushy)

½ cup fresh peas or frozen peas

The Couscous:

2 cups instant couscous

1 tsp turmeric

2 ½ cups vegetable stock

2 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted*

2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted*

6-7 dates, chopped

Salt to taste

* Toasting! There are 2 ways to do this 1) Spread the almond slivers  and pine nuts on a tray and toast under a grill for 2-3 minutes until slightly browned – keep a close eye on the suckers because they are really easy to burn. 2) Heat a little bit of oil in a non stick pan and then slightly fry the nuts for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.

To Make:

1.  Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, soup pot or wok. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute until slightly softened. Add all the spices and fry for 1-2 minutes until spices are very fragrant, stirring constantly.

2. Add the apricot jam and stir through until the jam has melted and begins to simmer. Then add the fennel and tomatoes and simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring roughly to break the tomatoes down.

3. Add the vegies stock, pumpkin, carrots, and potatoes and bring to the boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes or until vegies are tender. (While it is doing this boil the kettle and get your vegie stock ready for the couscous).

4. Add the coconut milk, black eyed beans and peas and simmer for a further 10 to 15 minutes with the lid off. While it is simmering away prepare your couscous:

5. Put the instant couscous in a bowl with the tumerick and some salt and pepper and stir well. Then add the hot stock and stir with a fork. Leave it for about 5 minutes to soak up all the liquid and then go back and fluff it up with the fork. Stir through the toasted nuts and the chopped dates. Leaving it stand for about 5 minutes longer while your curry finishes. Serve together!!

Serves 4-5 (or makes great leftovers for less people!)

Vegan Salad Medley: White Bean Salad, Garlic Artichoke Hearts and Almond Date Couscous

Sometimes when people come over you want to impress but you really don't feel like putting a lot of funds and effort in - well, a great solution is a collection of awesome salads, which are very easy to knock together and can comprise of what you have on hand mixed with a few touches that make it really special. These salads make a great complete dinner when made together but of course the nice thing is that you can break them up and just make 1 or 2 of them for dinner any night of the week.

White Bean Salad:

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of white beans (such as Great Northern Beans), soaked in water over night

2 tomatoes, chopped

400g pumpkin

1 tbsp capers

8-10 black olives

Big handful of baby spinach

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

To Make:

Boil cover the beans in water and boil in a saucepan with the lid on for 1-2 hours (until beans are cooked to the way you like them, their skins should be slightly split but the bean still firm). Chop the pumpkin into cubes, coat in olive oil and roast for 10-15 minutes in the oven until cooked.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and drizzle with some of the oil that you cooked the pumpkin in.

Garlic Artichoke Hearts

Ingredients:

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts

¼ Spanish onion

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp olive oil

½ clove garlic

1 green lettuce

1 purple lettuce

To Make:

1. Chop artichoke hearts in eighths and dice the onion very small. Combine the artichoke, onion, lemon juice, olive oil and crushed garlic. Leave aside to marinate while you make the other 2 salads.

2. Just before serving break the lettuce into leaves and arrange on a big serving platter alternating the colours. 3. Spoon the artichoke mix into the centre of the plate and drizzle the dressing at the bottle of the bowl over the lettuce leaves.

Almond Date Couscous

Ingredients:

1.5 cups couscous

2 cups vegetable stock

½ cup dates, chopped finely

1/3 cup of slivered almonds

To Make:

1. Preheat an oven or grill to 180 degrees.

2. Put the dry couscous in a bowl and cover with the boiling hot vegetable stock, leave to soak until the couscous is fully expanded and there is no more liquid in the bowl. Fluff the couscous with a fork and mix the dates through.

3. Spread the almond slivers on a tray and toast for 2-3 minutes until slightly browned – keep a close eye on the suckers because they are really easy to burn. Once toasted mix through the couscous mix. Serve.

   Note: this couscous also goes great as an accompaniment to curry or roast vegies. To add a bit of colour to it you can also add a handful of chopped coriander.