I had the pleasure of having the girls over for Valentines dinner and decided to whip up a yummy Moroccan style dish that we could all get stuck in to...
Googling couscous recipes for inspiration (as you do) I came across this one. Roasted vegetables sounded like the perfect pre-dancing food - light, but enough to fuel the dancing shoes. I actually made enough to probably feed six people however it turned out to be too damn good to neglect and we ended up demolishing nearly all of it!
giant couscous 300g chicken or vegetable stock 600ml 2 handfuls of sultanas large bunch of coriander 1 red, yellow and green bell pepper 2 courgettes 1 large onion 1 large butternut squash 4 garlic cloves of garlic half a lemon | hummus organic feta smoked mild paprika turmeric mixed spice cumin extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil raw cold-pressed coconut oil pink himalayan salt |
RECIPE METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Peel and chop the squash into good bite-size chunks (I promise that this is the hardest part of the recipe). Pop a dollop of coconut oil onto your baking tray and put it in the oven for a few seconds until the oil has melted. Chuck the squash in the baking tray along with as much smoked mild paprika, turmeric, mixed spice, cumin and salt as you want (I love flavours so I went to town, the mixed spice gives it a warmth and goes well with the sultanas in the couscous). Give that all a good mix up and bung on the top shelf of the oven - set your timer for 20 minutes.
Heat up a pan and throw in a small amount of olive oil (don't go all Jamie Oliver just yet!) followed by the giant couscous and fry for a few minutes until golden brown - make sure you keep stirring it so it all gets a chance of getting a tan. Stir the stock in over the couscous and set the heat to medium, when it boils turn the heat down to a simmer. Leave that to cook whilst you prepare the rest of the vegetables and go back and stir it frequently.
Grab another baking tray, add a little coconut oil to it and heat that up in the oven again. Check on your squash, all good? Great let's continue! Chop your peppers, courgettes and onions into nice chunks and throw onto your baking tray. Crush your garlic cloves over the veg and add salt, a bit of cumin and mixed spice. Toss that all together and put it in the oven just under the squash. By this time your 20 minute timer should have gone off. You'll want to shake up the squash a bit and put it back the oven. Set your timer for 30 minutes.
Breathe, have a glass of water, ahh. Heat up your serving dish by putting it in the oven for a few minutes. Add a big handful of sultanas, a good sprinkle of salt and a quarter of the lemon juice to the couscous - mix. Now is the time to prepare the extras. Crumble up your feta and put it in a little bowl. Transfer the hummus to a small bowl, squeeze and mix in the other quarter of the lemon, and garnish with mild smoked paprika and coriander leaves. What is your drink of choice? I served this meal with a chilled bottle of elderflower water.
Snip half of your coriander into the couscous, and hopefully by this time it should be cooked so transfer it to your warmed serving dish. Check on your vegetables, you may want to swap the trays around so the second tray is getting a good blasting of heat too. When the vegetables have finished cooking and they look scrumdiliumcious take them out of the oven and layer the squash pieces on the couscous followed by the rest of the veg. It should look mountainous. Drop over the other handful of sultanas, roughly cut over the rest of the coriander and to finish - in Jamie Oliver style - drizzle olive oil over the top. Voilà! Now kick back and tuck in!
Tag #lalamariarecipe on Instagram with your creation!
Heat up a pan and throw in a small amount of olive oil (don't go all Jamie Oliver just yet!) followed by the giant couscous and fry for a few minutes until golden brown - make sure you keep stirring it so it all gets a chance of getting a tan. Stir the stock in over the couscous and set the heat to medium, when it boils turn the heat down to a simmer. Leave that to cook whilst you prepare the rest of the vegetables and go back and stir it frequently.
Grab another baking tray, add a little coconut oil to it and heat that up in the oven again. Check on your squash, all good? Great let's continue! Chop your peppers, courgettes and onions into nice chunks and throw onto your baking tray. Crush your garlic cloves over the veg and add salt, a bit of cumin and mixed spice. Toss that all together and put it in the oven just under the squash. By this time your 20 minute timer should have gone off. You'll want to shake up the squash a bit and put it back the oven. Set your timer for 30 minutes.
Breathe, have a glass of water, ahh. Heat up your serving dish by putting it in the oven for a few minutes. Add a big handful of sultanas, a good sprinkle of salt and a quarter of the lemon juice to the couscous - mix. Now is the time to prepare the extras. Crumble up your feta and put it in a little bowl. Transfer the hummus to a small bowl, squeeze and mix in the other quarter of the lemon, and garnish with mild smoked paprika and coriander leaves. What is your drink of choice? I served this meal with a chilled bottle of elderflower water.
Snip half of your coriander into the couscous, and hopefully by this time it should be cooked so transfer it to your warmed serving dish. Check on your vegetables, you may want to swap the trays around so the second tray is getting a good blasting of heat too. When the vegetables have finished cooking and they look scrumdiliumcious take them out of the oven and layer the squash pieces on the couscous followed by the rest of the veg. It should look mountainous. Drop over the other handful of sultanas, roughly cut over the rest of the coriander and to finish - in Jamie Oliver style - drizzle olive oil over the top. Voilà! Now kick back and tuck in!
Tag #lalamariarecipe on Instagram with your creation!
With our bellies full we got ready and of course the night wouldn't have been complete without randomly appearing bright pink lipstick marks on white tops! The girls comically got to work with Vanish, a hairdryer and gloves, and all was saved. We headed into town and danced into the night!
What did you get up to on Valentines? And most importantly who's excited for Pancake Day? Ooh do I have a recipe for you coming up!
Lala x