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Roast veg with limey couscous
Serves 2
Easy
Total time:
A colourful and tasty veggie main course that can easily be adapted to feed as many people as you like. Also really tasty cold for lunch the next day if there are any leftovers!
Skip to ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
- 1 red or orange pepper, cut into large chunks
- 1 small courgette, thickly sliced
- 1 red onion, cut into large chunks
- Approx 10 asparagus spears, if in season
- 2 large vine tomatoes, cut into quarters
- garlic, finely chopped, to taste
- olive oil
- maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the couscous
- couscous - as much as you think you'd like to eat with the veg (I use approx 4 tbsp of dry couscous per person)
- marigold vegetable stock powder
- few spring onions, finely chopped
- fresh coriander, finely chopped
- fresh lime juice, to taste
- 1 pack of goats cheese, crumbled or cubed - either the soft kind in a log or the type that comes in large discs with rind - whichever you prefer
NOTE: all the above quantities are approximate, and will depend upon how hungry you are! I sometimes add some small waxy potatoes cut into small cubes as well - but cut them smaller than the sweet potato as they take longer to cook.
- NOTE: all the above quantities are approximate, and will depend upon how hungry you are! I sometimes add some small waxy potatoes cut into small cubes as well - but cut them smaller than the sweet potato as they take longer to cook
Method
step 1
Preheat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7step 2
Begin by roasting the veg. Put all the prepared veg except for the tomatoes into a large bowl and add the garlic. Add enough olive oil to finely coat the veg when its all mixed together. Season to taste - bear in mind the goats cheese you will be adding later is quite salty. Tip the veg onto a large roasting tray/shallow baking dish. If you want crispy, slightly chargrilled veg make sure you spread them all out in 1 layer only - if they are piled into a dish that's too small they will become soggy as they create lots of steam. Roast for 30 minutes, then give them a good turn and add the tomatoes. Roast for another 15 mins or until the veg are cooked to your liking.step 3
Once the veg are done, keep them warm in the oven. Now prepare the couscous. You may have your own foolproof method for perfect coucous, but here is mine: put the dry couscous into a large bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of marigold powder (according to taste). Pour over enough freshly boiled water to just cover the grains. Give it a stir quickly, before the grains start to swell. Cover the bowl and leave it for 5-10 minutes until all the water has been absorbed and the grains are soft. NOTE: if you are making this for lots of people, I find that cooking the couscous this way is much more successful if you do it in several smaller batches, rather than one large one - I've found large quantities of couscous clump together and the amount of water needed is more difficult to judge.step 4
Once the couscous is cooked, fluff it up with a fork to separate the grains and stir in the spring onions, coriander and lime juice to taste. Remove the veg from the oven and sprinkle over the crumbled/cubed goats cheese. Return the tray of veg to the oven briefly to melt the goats cheese slightly, then you are ready to serve.step 5
Serve however you like - I like to serve the couscous and veg in separate warmed large bowls at the table so everyone can help themselves, with some thick, aged balsamic to drizzle over.
