Fresh Beans and Tomato Couscous Salad

I am making the most of my weekend before the working week begins all over again. August was a manic month, with so many things on the edge of happening but then not happening for one reason - leaving me both exhausted and disappointed.  I was hoping September would be a bit quieter and a little kinder in comparison, but not so much, so you just make the most of what you do have and march on. 

We had this Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad early on in the week when i time to extract myself away from the computer screen to potter a little longer in the kitchen to make lunch.

It was not really much work, as couscous from a jar is effortless.  I am adoring the pop of colours coming from the cherry tomatoes from the garden.

The couscous also has the last of the runner beans, broad beans,  green beans and peas.  There is no recipe for this.  It simply cooked beans stirred into Ainsley Harriot's  Spice Sensation Couscous and topped off with some fresh tomatoes. 

D is not much of a couscous fan, but i didn't mind this at all. I teased him that i would be making it again, but its unlikely as the beans in the garden are coming the end.

I am sharing this Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad with Soup, Salad and Sammies hosted by Kahakai Kitchen. 

Cherry Tomato Couscous Tarte Tatin

Yes indeed regular blog readers, I am going through a red phase at the moment.  Thankfully this is limited to my homemade eats and treats.

I made a version of this Tomato Tarte Tatin last year with both red and golden yellow tomatoes, but never got round to sharing it on my blog.  So I was determined to show it off this year by making it again, with homegrown cherry tomatoes

However, I was a little heavy handed this time with the couscous - a little trick I read about to mop up the tomato juices.  It does look rather mushy, but it did save the pastry from going soggy and also made for a more filling dishes. 

The tomatoes were naturally super sweet and acidic at the same time.  We are really enjoying eating homegrown tomatoes and making the most of them whilst they last.  Today, I even had a tomato sandwich for my work lunch.  

Giant Cous Cous Salad

Is it the weekend yet?

I know I should not be wishing my life away, but its been a busy week with me having to work two late evenings that meant that I did not get home until just after 10 made, so I am ready for a break. 

Also I guess we are still far away from the weekend if I am about to talk about my work lunch.

I had not planned to make this Giant Cous Cous Salad, but we had nothing in the fridge as that particular weekend neither of us felt well enough to leave the house and venture far.  In the fridge I found half a butternut squash left over from Tagine I made a few days back and some red peppers.  I know peppers are not in season, I know that - but I always have them  for colour and for convenience to throw together dishes like this; and for some reason I had picked up a fennel bulb.  I also came across a packet of Jumbo or Giant Cous Cous that I thought would make a change from our usual pasta salad lunches. 

Peri Peri Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Couscous Salad

I made this Peri Peri Roasted Cauliflower Couscous last month after we had come back from Glastonbury.  

The Peri Peri Roasted Couscous is studded with nutty chickpeas and garnished with baby kale that tasted more like rocket than kale.  Its not much of a recipe, I coated the cauliflower in a little olive oil and doused it with Peri Peri spice blend and then put it in the oven to roast. You can make your own Peri Peri Spice Mix or buy it.  The couscous was made according to the packet instructions and then combined together along with a tin of cooked chickpeas.

Portobello Mushroom Stuffed with Tricolour Couscous

 I picked up these Portobello mushrooms to make a particular recipe, but when I got home I completely forgot what recipe I wanted to make (problem of flicking through too many cookbooks or maybe it's age?!).  

So in true ready steady cook style I just knocked up a light lunch and these Stuffed Mushrooms were on the table in not too long. 

I had half a packet of Tricolour Couscous left over from my Chickpea Marrow Curry rrecipe. The Tricolour Couscous is made up of golden couscous, some grains are delicately flavoured with spinach and tomato.   I decided to make the most of it as the primary base of my mushroom stuffing complimenting it further with some cooked chickpeas and the rest of the ingredients came from the fridge: spring onions, pepper, feta cheese and coriander.  

It made for a lovely light, colourful and flavoursome starter.  Now whats for dinner?! - leftovers from yesterday.

Za'atar Roasted Cauliflower with Maftoul

I came home a few days back and we had no Basmati rice in the kitchen cupboards, then my eyes fell upon a packet of Zaytoun maftoul.  Its been there for a few months, if I am honest just over a year I think.  So I decided to actually cook with it, rather than just admire the packet and its contents.

Maftoul will remind you of being somewhere between couscous and Bulgar wheat.  Maftoul is a large, hand rolled and pearly grain made from sundried bulgar wheat.  It has a unique, nutty flavour.  When I started eating it, I actually recalled having cooked and eaten it before, it went under the name pearl couscous aka mograbiah and was used for my Beetroot Pearls Salad, but I have since learned its the same thing, also known as fregola  and even giant couscous.    

I simply broke up a large cauliflower into bite size florets, drizzled it in a little olive oil with a pinch of sea salt and generous scattering of Zaytoun Palestinian Za'atar  and then placed it in the oven to roast, now and again I would give it a good toss and shake.  Zaytoun Palestinian Za'atar is a zesty Middle Eastern seasoning made with wild thyme, toasted sesame seeds and sumac. Halfway through this process, I added in some sliced baby peppers.      

Whilst the za'atar florets were turning golden, I put the maftoul on the hob.  I simply emptied the whole packet into a medium saucepan along with 500ml water and cooked using the absorption method.  It was ready in 20 minutes (if there is any excess liquid just drain).  I also stirred in a can of drained cooked chickpeas to warm through for a couple of minutes. The contents of the sauce pan were then stirred very gently into the za'atar roasted cauliflower (and peppers).   

It was really, really very good, not only was the cauliflower well flavoured, the texture of the maftoul was al dente - perfect with a little bite.  I am just disappointed that this photograph (as with other photographs of late) that just do not do the plated dish justice.  Anyway, I served this warm salad with a lightly spiced red pepper sauce, even D loved it and he doesn't say that about the traditional North African couscous at all, so maftoul will be making an appearance again pretty soon.   By the way this recipe serves four, we had the left overs the following day for lunch.

Vegan Marrow Curry served with Tricolour Couscous

Some of you may remember the monster marrows that I harvested from my garden a couple of weeks back, well here is one recipe that I made with it - vegan Marrow Curry with Chickpeas.  For me this dish shouts Autumn on a plate!

I actually could not remember the last time that I cooked or ate marrow, I think it was in my student days when I stuffed it with brown rice and baked it (this was the mid 1990s, not 1960s by the way).  I know, very old fashioned, but some times those are the recipes that are the best, but this time round South Asian curry spices were calling my name. 

I kept some of the marrow outer skin on, for colour and texture, but it was a not such a good idea as the outer skin was really tough, but fortunately enough it slid of the marrow easily.  I have one more home-grown marrow to go, so expect another recipe in the next couple of weeks.   

Oh for a change, I served it with Artisan Grains Tricolour Couscous. made up of golden couscous, tomato and spinach infused couscous.  It was delicately flavoured.  I have to say, it made a pleasant change from plain Basmati rice.  Another option is to stir the two together, I did with the left overs and it made for easy lunching! 

Sweetcorn, Chickpea and Pepper Couscous Salad with Harissa Oil

It's not that often that D comes back with a bag of fresh fruit and vegetables, that is something that is often left to me being the one who primarily cooks at home, but he did at the weekend.  He came back with some very colourful seasonal vegetables (and some peach doughnuts).  The vegetables included red hot chilli peppers, some baby orange and yellow peppers and the first of the seasons sweetcorn on the cobs.  The sweetcorn he picked up was so sweet and ripe, that you could honestly eat it raw as it was. 

I tend to freeze chillies when I have too much, but I had decided to make some more harissa oil based on my harissa paste recipe.  It went wonderfully the last time I made it with my vegan Moroccan Tajine Flaky Filo Twist Pies.  One of the reasons, I wanted to make the harissa oil again was that it served as a ready to reach for store-cupboard fridge ingredient.  Perfect for spreading on pitta bread for a light snack when taking breaks between filling in application forms, but yesterday, I found it had come in handy for D's lunch.  The working man has to be fed too.  

Romanesco Broccoli aka Romanesco Cauliflower Salad

I've never been able to grow my own cauliflowers well, whether it be snowball or a beautiful green coiled variety called Romaneco Cauliflower.  So last weekend when we went to the farmers market in Glasgow, my eyes full of excitement fell upon these large heads of luminous green vegetables.

These Romanesco Cauliflowers with its spiralling and mesmerizing natural pointy shell like pattern known as pyllotaxis were being sold for a superb price of £1 pound each, well I could not resist.  Not only was it my first time up close and personal with this 3D vegetable, it was the first time I had ever seen them being sold the Scottish farmers market.  I also came away with rhubarb sticks; and fat courgettes from a different stall.

I've already made a Sicilian Vegetable Stew with the courgettes, and with the rhubarb I've made a sweet and salty rhubarb bread (yet to be posted); and with the Romanesco Cauliflower a

I haven't yet mastered presenting my cold or warm salads elegantly, like those you see at high end deli's, so you will just have to set your eyes on this messy, yet colour and flavour packed bowl.

Romanesco Cauliflower, also known as Romanesco Broccoli or Calabrese Romanesco in Italian recipes.  Why? Well it may look like a cauliflower, but it actually tastes like a mild broccoli.

A little while ago, I also picked up a packet of Mughrabiya (or Mograbieh) from a Middle Eastern shop.  Mughrabiya looks a bit like Israeli couscous, in that it is larger, but it doesn't taste the same.  I have found the taste of Israeli couscous a bit like pasta, whereas this has some flavour.  You may find Mughrabiya being sold as: Giant couscous or Lebanese Couscous.  Mughrabiya is made from semolina, salt and water and the round grains are rolled individually by hand and therefore vary in size.  So if you do find some and end up cooking them, you will note that these semolina dough balls don't all cook the same, leaving some al dente, but that was okay with me. 

I don't have an actual recipe for this warm salad as I made it on the spot.  But here are some measurements.
Warm Romanesco and Feta Salad
Serves 6 generously
Ingredients
1 whole Romanesco Cauliflower, broken into bite sized florets
2 - 4 tablespoons olive oil
250g couscous
Optional: 60g Mughrabiya
250g feta cheese, chopped into cubes
2 tomatoes, sliced
Handful of fresh mint, chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of toasted pumpkin seeds
Method
Roast the florets in the oven with a little drizzling of olive oil and bake until tender.  Set aside.
In a large bowl, cook couscous according to packet instruction or pour 400ml vegetable stock and 1 tablespoon olive oil .  Stir and cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes.
Boil the Mughrabiya in water for 5 minutes or until tender, then drain and stir into the couscous.
Then stir in all the remaining ingredients.  Season to taste and scatter over the pumpkin seeds.  Serve immediately.  Best eaten warm.

Beetroot Pearls

This Beetroot Salad  has a mouthful of a name 'Balsamic-Roasted Beetroot with Winter Greens and Pearl Couscous'.  After pottering in the garden, this was our lunch yesterday.  Its a simple recipe.  What makes it different is the pearl couscous tainted red by the bleeding beetroot juices.
 
Pearl couscous is also known as Jumbo couscous, Giant couscous, Moghrabiah, Israeli couscous; and/or Jerusalem couscous.  It should not be confused with the traditional semolina couscous.  Pearl couscous as the name suggests are round beads or tiny balls.  Unlike traditional couscous, pearl couscous is made from baked wheat rather than semolina.  It is very similar to pasta in that it holds it shape and texture.  Whilst eating it reminded me of orzo, a rice shaped pasta.  This Beetroot Salad was amazing to look at; and certainly had the Wow factor, but the taste was a bit of a let down.

Although the colours penetrated the pearl couscous (the longer its left the colour deepens), the flavours of the beetroot did not infuse these pasta balls.

I struggled for years to find Mograbiah or Pearl couscous, so if you can't find any, it can easily be replaced with traditional North African couscous that are readily available in most supermarkets and health shops.

I am submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights #212. For those of you who are new to Presto Pasta Nights, or PPN as it is fondly known was founded by Ruth Daniels of Once Upon a Feast and each Friday night a different host posts a roundup of pasta dishes submitted by bloggers from around the world.

Balsamic-roasted beetroot with winter greens and Pearl couscous
Serves 4 or 6 – 8 as a side dish
Ingredients
500g beetroot, peeled and chopped into even size cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
Salt to taste
Handful of shredded winter greens
200g pearl couscous
For the dressing
Juice 1 lemon
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Optional: cubes of feta cheese
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 7. Put the beetroot in a roasting tin with the oil, vinegar, garlic and salt to taste. Mix well and cover the tine with foil. Roast for 45 minutes or until tender.
Whilst the beetroot is roasting, in a large bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients. Set aside. Then boil some water in a pan, when boiling add the pearl couscous and cook like pasta until al dente. Drain and stir into the dressing and set aside.

In another pan, either steam or boil the winter greens, when tender. Drain and stir into the pearl couscous. When the beetroot is roasted, stir into the couscous along with any roasting juice, stir well and allow to stand for about 30 minutes (the longer the better) to allow the colour and flavours to mingle. Serve topped with optional feta cheese cubes.

Cranberry Couscous

This dish came about in an attempt to use some chopped vegetables in my fridge: a wedge of squash and a large floret of broccoli. These were left over from the Uchiki Kuri Squash and Broccoli pie.

I was not sure how D would find this couscous salad. His reservations towards couscous have been well documented on this blog. But he was pleasantly surprised at his liking for this vibrant salad that can only be described as both sweet and savoury. The sweetness came from the cranberries, and squash and the savoury from the broccoli and salty vegetable stock.
Savoury Cranberry Couscous salad
Serves 3 - 4
Ingredients
A wedge of pumpkin or butternut squash
100g - 150g broccoli stalks, chopped down into bite size pieces
400ml vegetable stock
200g couscous
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
50g dried cranberries
Salt to taste
Method
Chop the pumpkin or butternut squash wedge into bite size pieces. Drizzle with a little oil and bake in oven until tender. Remove and set aside.
Steam the broccoli stalks until tender, then set aside
In a bowl add the couscous and to with 400ml vegetable stock. Cover and set aside
Heat the oil, add the onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add the cranberries and add 2 tablespoons of cold water and cook for a couple of minutes. Turn off heat.
Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and season generously with salt to taste. Serve warm or cold.

Roasted Runner beans for lunch

I’ve eaten some of the runner beans steamed, this time I thought I’d oven roast them. I remembered a recipe I made last year adapted from Denis Cotters Paradiso Seasons. I thought I’d make a lazy version of it again, but this time with runner beans. Lazy for two reasons, one I was rather tired from the gardening yesterday and wanted to spend little time in the kitchen and more time on the sofa; and two, the spices in the dish have been toned down a little because I was not in the mood to follow the step by step cooking instructions. The end result was still very flavourful and rather filling.
Here are some photographs of progress in the garden yesterday.

I was unable to step into my plot without stepping on or brushing against another plant, now there is room for me to step into the plot, so much so that you can see my stepping tiles as I’ve pulled out most of the brassica plants. Sadly no home-grown cavolo nero for me this winter, and the sprouts, I have left two plants in the soil, but I don’t know if they’ll be there for the winter as they look pretty raggedy with the caterpillar damage.

We also harvested our new potatoes growing in pots. We should have really harvested them a month ago, but they are edible that's the main thing.

Surprised to see some strawberries still growing.

Picked some more bolted rainbow chard. I only touched the golden apple pumpkin and it fell of its vine, so that had to come upstairs with me too. I also snipped some lemon verbena, I am happy just sniffing it, but am going to dry some in the windowsill, so that I can enjoy it later as a herbal tea, maybe.

Even though the runner beans had lost its vibrant green colour, cooked this way they were rather succulent.
Roasted runner beans with couscous
Serves 4
Ingredients
8 shallots
Salt and pepper to taste
300g runner beans, topped and tailed, then sliced into diagonal pieces
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 large fresh red chillies, chopped into rings
1 tablespoon of cumin
50ml vegetable stock or water
200g cooked chickpeas
150g cooked couscous
Optional feta cheese and drizzling of flavoured oil
Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 6. Toss the peeled shallots or onions with a little olive oil into a large baking dish and roast until they have softened a little and beginning to colour. While that is cooking, soak the couscous in 150ml water or vegetable stock. Stir the couscous once and leave it to absorb the water or stock. Add the chopped beans and garlic to the shallots. Toss well and return back to the oven. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the sliced chillies and cumin along with the 50ml water to keep the beans from sticking. Cook for a few more minutes until the beans are tender and the flavours are well absorbed. Stir in the chickpeas.
Sift the couscous with a fork, then gently stir into the cooked vegetables. Serve with a drizzle of the flavoured oil or cubes of feta cheese.

Sunflower turning up to the skies

This is the first sunflower in my garden to open its little head. For the past two days I've been admiring and looking at it from the flat window.

Some apples hanging in on the tree. Still a long way from cooking with them.

Blueberries are fattening and beginning to ripen.

I've harvested all of the cauliflowers in the garden. Look they've begun to spurt. I should have harvested them a bit earlier, when I was boasting about them. Ah they'll still be edible in a soup or a bake.

Here's a 'Cauliflower and couscous roast' - an all in one dish. Not exactly cauliflower and cheese, but its packed with flavour from the capers, cheese and texture from the couscous and cauliflower. Although its creamy, its not claggy at all. Its actually quite light to eat.

Creamy cauliflower and couscous roast
Serves 4
Ingredients
500ml vegetable stock
700g cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 teaspoons mustard
25g butter
200g couscous
125g milk
100g light cream cheese
100g boursin cheese
2 tablespoon capers, rinsed
A handful of fresh chives, snipped
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Method
In a large saucepan add the florets along with the stock and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Add a pinch of salt, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the cauliflower is just tender. Strain the cauliflower over a bowl, reserving the liquid, then beat the mustard and butter into the liquid. Put the couscous into another bowl, pour the liquid over the couscous and let soak for about 5 minutes. Arrange the cauliflower in a single layer in an ovenproof dish.
Put the milk into a saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Beat in the cream cheese to form a thick sauce, then pour over the cauliflower.
Fluff up the soaked couscous with a fork, then stir in the capers, Gruyere and chives. Spoon the couscous mixture over the cauliflower, sprinkle with cayenne and bake in a preheated oven at Gas mark 6 for 30 – 40 minutes until golden. Serve immediately. Adapted from New Kitchen Garden by Adam Kaplin with recipes by Celia Brooks Brown.

To end, some of you will have heard me mentioning the menacing skies in Scotland. Well there are evening when the skies here are magnificent. Look at these.

Taken in my garden few days ago. Sometimes the magic in the skies just take my breath away. Hope your all having a lovely weekend.

Lemony coucous with chermoula mushrooms

Like the spices sumac and za’atar that have recently begun to appear in the food columns of lifestyle magazines, it was only a matter of time that chermoula would make its appearance too, as either a dressing or a sauce. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with chermoula, Chermoula is a thick, powerful green herby paste. It is often made with a mixture of herbs namely coriander, cumin, lemon juice, olive oil, pickled lemons, garlic and salt. Its roots can be found in North Africa. Chermoula is used as marinade in Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian cooking to coat either fish or seafood. You will find a number of recipes on the world wide web and cookbooks, but there is no fixed way of making chermoula. Everyone seems to make it according to their palette and each recipe seems to use different spices, but the two main ingredients that are constant are fresh coriander and garlic.
I flew from my parents nest in the mid 1990s for college and then eventually university. Although my mother had successfully instilled every domestic goddess skill there was to learn into me from a very early age, I was never sold on the idea of being 'a good housewife' or even remotely interested in being in the kitchen. In fact, I actively rebelled against these assumed gender roles and subsequently viewed such skills as a chore and a way to keep women in the house.

The only reason I found my way to the kitchen and more importantly the cooker, was the fact that I really missed my mothers cooking, the associated aromas, as well as certain flavours: fresh, herby, spicy, earthy, sour, zingy and so on. Whilst at Uni, I was always hankering for bold flavours to make my tongue feel alive and looking for ways to satisfy this urge and thus my interest in cooking was reignited, first for myself and then for others. It was around this time, that I also discovered the adventurous and experimental cook in me, and the hanging out at cookbook section and shops with vaguely kitchen related things became more than a habit.
All of this is way of saying how I first came across chermoula. I was introduced to it by Nadine Abensur, not literally of course but via the book Cranks Fast Food. I made it from scratch and served it with oven baked sweet potato chips. Oh my goodness - it was really flavourful – one I recommend especially if you love coriander. Chermoula is so versatile that it can be used to coat vegetables or even grains. This recipe is adapted from the chef Paul Gayler. Here the ‘chermoula’ gives mushrooms a tantalizing aroma as they cook. Now my husband is no fan of couscous, but this is the second couscous dish he has declared 'Delicious'.

Lemon Couscous and chermoula mushrooms
Serves 4
Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 generous teaspoon dried chilli flakes
200g - 300g chestnut mushrooms, halved
1 tablespoon harissa paste (for a harissa recipe follow this link)
400g can tomatoes, chopped
Small handful of fresh coriander, minced
200g couscous
250ml vegetable stock, boiling
Juice of ½ lemon or to taste
1 tablespoon Lemon pepper (see below for recipe)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Place the couscous in a bowl with the vegetable stock and lemon juice, and cover. Leave for 5 minutes until the couscous has swollen. Fluff it up with a fork, cover again and leave for 5 more minutes. Add the lemon pepper, season to taste with salt and pepper and keep warm
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the cumin and chilli and cook for a few seconds before adding the mushrooms and harissa. Fry for a couple of minutes, then add the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 8 – 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped coriander. Serve with lemon couscous topped with the chermoula mushrooms.

When finely ground (unlike this one), dried lemon zest is a useful ingredient for flavouring grains and perking up other bland food.
Making Lemon pepper
Preheat the oven to gas mark 1. Peel 2 lemons with a potato peeler.

Spread the peel out on a clean baking sheet and bake for 1 hour until the skins are dried and shrivelled. Leave to cool.

When cool, place the peel in a coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder. Store the lemon pepper in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Slightly adapted from Paul Gaylers Vegetarian Cookbook.

Couscous wedges with garlicky PSB

Our visits to the allotment have now reduced from daily to three times and sometimes twice a week. The tomatoes are certainly starting to dwindle. I picked what I think maybe the last of the climbing blue lake and purple queen french beans, but the neckar gold is still doing well. Some pruple top milan turnips peeking out from the soil were calling to me to pick them, so I did. I picked a bundle of sage, some mint and red marner cabbage.
I also picked some of the super early purple sprouting broccoli (PSB). So this was our supper earlier. I had some couscous wedges left over from yesterday, which I served with some garlicky PSB.

All I did was steam the PSB until al dente and then set it aside while I got on with the garlicky bit. In a large pan, I added 2 - 4 tbsp of olive oil, 2 large cloves of garlic, sliced and heat through until the olive oil has infused with the flavours of the garlic. Finally toss in the PSB until it was well coated.
The PSB was really lovely. PSB straight from the plot to the plate.

Crispy couscous wedges

with oven baked tomatoes and green beans.
My husband is not a big fan of couscous, well that what he tells me, until he has a mouthful and declares 'actually this is very nice'. What I liked about the couscous wedges was the textures: the softness of the couscous grains, against the crispy ones on the outside. This is relatively a simple dish to make, a good one to make after you've had a busy day.

Crispy couscous wedges
Serves 4 - 6
Ingredients
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
300ml vegetable stock
250g couscous
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
50g crumbled feta cheese
3 tablespoons of parsley, chopped
1 beaten egg
4 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Preheat the oven to Gas mark 6. Place the couscous in a heatproof bowl and pour over the stock and stir in the garlic. Leave till couscous has absorbed the stock. Then gently fork couscous to separate the grains, then add the pine nuts, feta cheese, parsley and seasoning to taste. Add egg and mix to combine. Brush a 9 inch tart tin with a little olive and and spoon in the couscous mixture. Smooth the surface over with the back of a spoon then set aside until ready to eat.
When ready to eat, cut the couscous into four to six wedges. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and fry couscous wedges for a few minutes until golden, then flip over gently and fry until the other side is brown and crisp. Serve with tomatoes and green beans that have been roasted in the oven in a little olive oil for 20 minutes. Idea inspired by Ainsley Harriots Gourmet Express.

Roasted beans with couscous and spiced feta Salad

I know I know I have a load of tomatoes and plums, so why on earth am I showcasing a couscous salad. Well my dear readers, please don't fret. I have just poured the plum jam into jars and the plum chutney is simmering away as I type. I have also made a Tomato lasagne which I will showcase tomorrow as it is intended to be our supper for tomorrow when we get back from our trip to Fife tomorrow. You will be pleased to know that this couscous recipe does have my homegrown green beans, runner beans, shallots, baby onions and rosemary. So it's not all bad.
This is one of my favourite couscous salad recipes, I must have made this about 4 – 5 times last year. It is quite substantial on its own, but could also be served as part of a buffet with dolmades, olives and roasted balsamic tomatoes. I don't know what it's origins are or if its just one of those brilliant fusion recipes, as it has couscous from North Africa, feta cheese from Greece, spices from India, and all the fresh vegetables from the U.K, my plot to be more precise. So I hope Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen accepts this as she is this months host for No Croutons Required Challenge.

Roasted beans with couscous and spiced feta Salad
Serves 4
For the marinated feta.
This part can be omitted for vegans or *substituted with a vegan alternative

Ingredients
200g feta cheese*
4 cloves of garlic, halved
2 hot chillies, halved
A few sprigs of rosemary or thyme
Olive oil
For the couscous
8-10 shallots, or small onions, red or white
300g couscous
1 teaspoon turmeric
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
500g runner and climbing beans (use fat climbing beans though, not thin ones as they will shrivel and burn). Slice into diagonal pieces
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
2 fresh red chillies, chopped into rings
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of fennel seeds
50ml vegetable stock or water
200g cooked chickpeas

Small handful of coriander, chopped

Method
Chop the feta into cubes, put into a bowl with the garlic, chillies and herb sprigs. Pour in enough oil to cover the cheese and leave to marinate for an hour before you want to serve the couscous.

Preheat oven to gas mark 6. Toss the peeled shallots or onions with a little olive oil into a large baking dish and roast until they have softened a little and beginning to colour. While that is cooking, soak the couscous. Stir n the turmeric, lemon zest into the dry couscous, season and pour in 300ml vegetable stock. Stir the couscous once and leave it to absorb the flavours until the vegetables are cooked. Add the chopped beans and garlic to the shallots. Toss well and return back to the oven. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the sliced chillies, cumin and fennel, along with the 50ml water to keep the beans from sticking. Cook for a few more minutes until the beans are tender and the flavours are well absorbed. Stir in the chickpeas and coriander.

Sift the couscous with a fork, then gently stir into the cooked vegetables. Serve and scatter over the marinated feta with a drizzle of the flavoured oil. Adapted from Denis Cotter’s Paradiso Seasons