Plat du Jour

Vegetable Couscous

 

This evening, I was in the mood for something colourful. Sometimes you want food to be a feast for the eyes and not just the tum. Anyway, this dish is filled with vibrant colours, is nice and light and is very easy to make. All you really have to do is chop everything up and throw it into a pot. It is moderately spicy and will feed four comfortably.

Ingredients for the Vegetable Stew:

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 onion, finely chopped 

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 aubergine, cut into cubes

2 courgettes, cut into chunks 

1 red pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks 

1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks

2 tsp ground cumin 

1 tsp paprika 

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger 

½ tsp allspice 

1 pt (600 ml) sieved tinned tomatoes 

5 fl oz (150 ml) vegetable stock (made from Marigold Swiss bouillon powder)

6 oz (175 g) tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed 

2 tsp harissa paste 

2 tsp chopped fresh coriander 

 

Ingredients for the Couscous:

10 oz (275 g) medium couscous

18 fl oz (500 ml) hot vegetable stock (made from Marigold Swiss bouillon powder)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Cooking Instructions:

Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan, add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the aubergine, courgettes, red and yellow pepper and continue cooking, stirring now and then, for 5 minutes (see photo below).

Add the cumin, paprika, ginger and allspice and continue cooking for 1 minute (see photo above). Add the chickpeas, sieved tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil (see photo below), then simmer (uncovered) for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

About 5 minutes before the vegetables are cooked, place the couscous into a large heatproof bowl, pour the vegetable stock over it, season with salt and pepper, then stir it with a fork. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave the couscous on one side for 5 minutes, by which time it should have absorbed the stock and softened.

Mix the harissa paste with a little of the sauce from the vegetables and then stir it back into the vegetable stew. Serve the vegetable stew on a bed of couscous and sprinkle with coriander.  

Bon appétit!

Vegetarian Sausage Casserole

 

I don't usually use meat substitutes when I'm cooking. As someone who's been vegetarian for most of my life (it all kicked off when I was only four years old), I don't notice that meat isn't in food because I can't remember it being there to begin with. I do, however, have the occasional Lincolnshire vegetarian sausage all by itself, stabbed with a fork and dunked in ketchup. So, in the interest of adventurous food experimentation, I thought I'd try out a veggie sausage casserole on this cold winter evening. Much tweakage ensued, and the result was very tasty indeed. This recipe will feed four comfortably and goes very well with some warmed crusty bread.

Ingredients:

1 lb 8 oz (675 g) potatoes, cubed

2 tbsp ground nut oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 leek, white and light green parts, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

1 lb (450 g) carrots, sliced

1 cooking apple, cored and cubed

1 packet veggie sausages (we used Cauldron Lincolnshire), chopped into bite-sized pieces

5 fl oz (150 ml) white wine (we used a Riesling)

10 oz (275 g) chopped, tinned tomatoes

10 fl oz (300 ml) hot vegetable stock (made from Marigold Swiss bouillon powder)

1 tbsp tomato purée 

3½ oz (100 g) red lentils

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

Cooking Instructions:

Put the cubed potatoes into a pan and boil for 5 minutes, then set aside for later.

Next, heat the oil in a large pan/casserole and fry the onion and leek for 5 minutes (see photo above). Add the garlic, bay leaf and chopped thyme and fry for 2 more minutes (see photo below). 

Add the carrot, apple and sausages and cook on a low heat until the sausages are cooked through (see photo above). For the Cauldron vegetarian Lincolnshire sausages this took 10 minutes.

Add the wine, turn up the heat and cook for a minute. Throw in the tomatoes, stock, tomato purée, potatoes and lentils (see photo above), bring to the boil, cover, then cook for 20 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf, season with salt and pepper and serve with some nice crusty bread. 

Bon appétit!