Thought I had run out of steam where couscous is concerned? Wrong- think again! This is one of my favourite couscous recipes, and one I have been making for nearly 10 years. It has taken several iterations to get this recipe as I wanted it – it first gained popularity when I cooked in for some of my university friends when studying for my MA in Marketing of all things. Couscous with roasted Mediterranean vegetables takes a few minutes to prepare, under an hour to cook, and is packed full of flavour. Garlic, chilli, lemon and herbes de Provence work really well together.
I am really looking forward to my lunches at work for the next few days- this is something I struggle to bore of. As a word of caution, depending on your love of chilli, this can become a little fiery, particularly if you add the chilli flakes. Aubergines seem to act as a flavour and heat sponge which can be good in one respect, potentially a little overwhelming in another.
Make sure that you spread out the vegetables on the oven tray so that they can roast evenly.
- 1 x medium aubergine, diced
- 1 x medium courgette, quartered horizontally, then sliced into wedges.
- 2 x medium red onions, thinly sliced into vertical wedges
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 x garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 x tbsp olive oil
- 2 x tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 x red chilli finely sliced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes (optional, if you like it a little hotter)
- ½ tbsp herbes de Provence
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- First of all, you’ll need to make couscous following this recipe
- Preheat the oven to 200-220C, and line 2 x oven trays with tin foil lightly greased with olive oil
- Take a large bowl (you will need this) and combine all the vegetables together. Using salad spoons or large serving spoons, gently mix together.
- Add the olive oil, herbs, salt, crushed garlic, pepper, chilli and mix again, ensuring that everything is evenly coated.
- Drizzle over the balsamic vinegar and season well.
- Take out the hot oven trays, and divide the vegetables evenly between the two. The reason for 2 x trays is that I find that the vegetables roast much better when evenly spread out, otherwise the tend to get a little soggy.
- Roast for about 20 mins, the remove from oven, and turn the vegetables over. Return to the oven for another 15-20 mins until cooked. Do keep an eye on them though and check towards the end. I like my vegetables (unlike to steak) to be crispy and caramelised – it is your choice entirely.
- Once cooked to your liking, remove from oven and mix into the couscous you made earlier. Once evenly mixed, you can add some fresh lemon juice, drizzle a little more olive oil and scatter some fresh parsley.
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