Catali Garel-Jones from London SW1 said:
We must make sure that people are made aware of how much we waste and the high cost of it.
Nutty Veggie Couscous
This is a great accompaniment or serve as a main course with some grilled halloumi cheese.
Ingredients show imperial units
Serves 10 people
- 450ml vegetable stock
Stocks
Made from your meat and fish bones.
Frozen in ice cubes for gravies, risotto and cooking rice. Once frozen, remove from the ice trays and pack into freezer bags. Use stock powder or cubes if you do not have any home made available.
- 400g can chick peas, drained
- 50g ready-to-eat apricots
Dried fruits
Sultanas, currents, and raisins are all dried grapes of different varieties.
- They are a healthy snack on their own or with nuts. They also work well for fruitcakes and Christmas pudding, biscuits and buns.
- When re-hydrated in water, tea or alcohol they can be added to mousses, fools and ice creams.
- Their natural sweetness works well with Indian and North African recipes.
- Keep the fruits fresher by resealing them with bag clips or transfer them to airtight containers.
- 125g mixed nuts
Nuts
Add crunch to your cooking!!!
- Almonds are used in Moroccan tagine dishes as well as in Indian cooking or for garnish for scented rice and curry dishes. They also work well with apples, apricots, lemon, orange, vanilla and chocolate. Ground almonds are great in biscuits and cakes.
- Walnuts – add crunch to salad and are good in stuffing’s. Have a bowl of walnuts at Christmas for people to enjoy with a glass of port
- 25g butter
Butter
Unsalted is better for cooking.
Easy spread butter is ideal for sandwiches and toast.
- 125g leftover vegetables, roughly chopped
- A pinch of salt
Salt
Consider tablesalt, sea salt or crystals.
Sea salt’s pronounced and salty flavour means less is required to season food.
- Freshly ground black peppercorns
Black peppercorns
Best used as a condiment.
They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.- Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
- Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
- Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar
- Chopped herbs such as coriander, parsley or mint
- 450g Couscous
Instructions
- Place the couscous in a bowl with 200ml hot stock. Leave for 5 minutes and break up the lumps with a fork.
- Add the remaining hot stock, chickpeas, chopped apricots and nuts.
- Melt the butter in a frying pan and stir-fry the vegetables until piping hot. Add to the couscous and season well; add the herbs just before serving.
Comments on this recipe
So very nutricious and very satisfieing, for someone living alone it would make small portions.
For a healthy twist on this recipe, replace the butter with a small splash of olive oil, and then drizzle the finished dish with a little flax oil. This gives the same buttery mouth feel but with less cholesterol and more omega oils.
You might also like to swap the stock for hot water with 2 teaspoon of yeast extract in it. This reduces will give you extra B vitamins.
Comments on this recipe