Roasted vegetable couscous with goats cheese & harissa

June 19, 2017October 31, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

Why I thought it was a good idea to roast vegetables on the hottest day of the year, in my tiny 2 bedroom flat is beyond me but I’ve never claimed to be the smartest tool in the box… Hang on that doesn’t sound right. Why would a tool need to be smart? Let’s check Google…
Right so it’s the ‘sharpest’ tool in the box. Think I’ve just proved my point.
Anyway, my mum used to make a Delia Smith recipe similar to this one, she even managed to dig the book out for me to look at but the recipe was so long I got bored and walked off. I mean it’s hardly rocket science is it? Make some couscous, roast some veg, top with cheese, BOOM! Come on Delia sort it out, I don’t have 9 hours to make my dinner. Actually I should be nice to Delia, she launched Sainsbury’s Magazine back in 1993 who currently employ me, so I should stop talking now. Love you Delia, you da best!

Roasted vegetable couscous with goats cheese & harissa
Serves 4 / Hands on time 25 mins / Total time 1 hour 10 mins / V
250g couscous
350ml vegetable stock, I use Knorr
½ red onion, peeled and roughly sliced
1 medium aubergine, cut into chunks
5 baby leeks or 1 regular roughly chopped
Handful cherry tomatoes, roughly 10
200g butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cut into chunks (I buy it already peeled and chopped)
1 red pepper, sliced
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 tbs olive oil
150g vegetarian firm goats cheese
Handful fresh basil, chopped
Harrissa dressing
Juice of a lemon
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp honey
2 tsp harrissa paste

Method
1. Preheat your oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7. Measure out your couscous and pour into a large bowl. Pour over the vegetable stock, making sure all the couscous is covered. Cover the bowl with cling film and put to one side.
2. Roughly chop the aubergine, red onion, red pepper and butternut squash and put into a large roasting tray. Scatter with a handful of cherry tomatoes, whole baby leeks and the peeled and bashed garlic cloves. Add the olive oil and give it a good mix until the vegetables are evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make your dressing by combining the juice of a lemon, harrissa paste, honey, extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Put to one side.
4. By now your couscous should be nice and soft. Uncover the bowl and using a fork, scrape across the top to start loosening it. Keep the pressure light and keep scraping until you get to the bottom of the bowl and your couscous looks light and fluffy. Put to one side.
5. After half an hour, carefully remove your veg from the oven, give it a bit of a shake and pop back in for another 10 minutes. Meanwhile, roughly chop a handful of basil leaves and cut your goats cheese into chunks and put to one side.
6. Once your veg is roasted, remove from the oven but leave the oven on. Carefully scoop out the veg and pop it onto a plate. Then in the same baking tray, spread out the couscous and top evenly with the roasted vegetables. Scatter with goats cheese and put back in the oven for a further 10 minutes. Serve topped with fresh basil and good drizzle of Harissa dressing.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian

Spinach & chickpea couscous

August 4, 2015February 1, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 1 Comment

Look, I know I just did a couscous recipe but like I said in my previous post, I’m poor and a bit fat so give me an effing break… Also, I appear to only have a giant bag of couscous in my cupboard so I should probably try and make some sort of dent in it. Anyway, if I find myself becoming bored of couscous, I can always try and feed some to my new housemate, a small disgusting mouse I’ve decided to call, Vince. He moved in last week while Max the dog was on holiday, not cool. So not only do I have my poverty and fatness to contend with, but now I have to try and evict Vince if I’m ever to coax my terrified boyfriend out of the bedroom.

Anyway enough about Vince, lets talk couscous. I went to Barcelona on my 20th birthday with my first boyfriend who ended up stealing all my stuff – but that’s another story. Anyhoo, there wasn’t much I could eat out there but one restaurant made me a sautéed chickpea and spinach dish which I remember thinking looked rubbish but was actually really delicious. It’s a little weedy by itself though so I’ve put it with some couscous and feta. If you’re feeling frisky you can try topping it with a poached egg… I hope you don’t mind if I don’t though, the realisation that I went to Barcelona over 10 years ago just made me feel sick… Vom.

Spinach & chickpea couscous
Serves 2 / Hands on time 20 mins / Total time 20 mins / V
1 tsp rapeseed
80g couscous
150ml vegetable stock, I use ½ Knorr stock pot
½ onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
¼ tsp chilli flakes
½ tsp turmeric
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
200g fresh spinach
2 spring onions, chopped
100g feta, crumbled
Extra virgin olive oil to (to serve)

Method
1. Pour the couscous into a big bowl and cover with stock. Give it a brief stir with a fork before covering with cling film. Put to one side.
2. Add a tsp of oil and to a large frying pan or heavy bottomed pot over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and chilli and soften for 5-10 mins, adding a dash of water to help them steam. Once softened, add the turmeric and cook for 2 mins before stirring in the chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Start adding the spinach a handful at a time, allowing it to wilt before adding another, adding a dash of water to aid steaming if necessary.
4. Once the spinach has wilted season well with salt and pepper and put to one side to cool slightly.
5. Remove the cling film from the couscous and rake with a fork until the nice and loose. Add the warm chickpea mixture to the couscous and give it a good stir. Finely chop the spring onions and incorporate them into the couscous. Stir through the feta and serve with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian

Herb & rocket couscous with feta

August 1, 2015February 1, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

First of all, couscous is nothing like quinoa so stop that! Couscous is semolina granules made from crushed durum wheat. No one knows what quinoa is.
Anyway, I LOVE couscous, especially for lunch so I make this recipe quite a lot. It’s also cheap which is good because I appear to have misplaced all of my money. I swear I used to have some.
Right I won’t bang on, it’s Friday night and we should all be out frolocking and getting jolly drunk. However, I’m the sado who stayed in to write her blog, watch The Office and drink hot chocolate like a reclusive old bint – my evening was actually rather pleasant until I thought the apron hanging up on the kitchen door was a ghost.

Herb & rocket couscous with feta
Serves 4 / Hands on time 20-25 mins / Total time 20-25 mins / V
You’ll need: Food processor, cling film
150g couscous
200ml vegetable stock, I use ½ a Knorr stock pot
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp rapeseed oil
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp salt
30g fresh coriander
20g fresh mint leaves
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 handfuls walnut pieces, chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
200g vegetarian feta cheese, crumbled
40g rocket
Extra virgin olive oil to serve

Method
1. Measure out the couscous and place in a large bowl. Pour over the vegetable stock and give it a mix with a fork – make sure all the couscous is fully covered. Cover with cling film and put to one side.
2. In a small frying pan, fry the onions in a tsp of oil over a medium to low heat for a few minutes – add a dash of water to help the onions steam. Once a little softened, sprinkle over the cumin and salt. Stir before covering with a lid and leave to sweat on a low heat for 10 mins.
3. Meanwhile, put the coriander (including any stalks) into a food processor, along with the mint leaves (stalks removed). Add 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil and blitz until you have a rough paste.
4. Remove the cling film from the couscous and start raking the top layer with a fork to loosen the grains. Continue to rake until you have a light fluffy bowl of couscous. Add the herb paste and incorporate into the couscous still using the fork to distribute the herbs evenly.
5. Add the onions, walnuts and the spring onions to the couscous and give it a good mix before incorporating the rocket a handful at a time. Finally crumble in the feta, season well with salt and pepper and serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian