Sometimes things are just so right. Like when you put on a new album, and within seconds of when the beat drops you know that it's going to be everything you'd hoped for. You know that you will forget that you are listening to music at all, in fact, and instead just experience the vastness of life. You know? Or when you pick up a new book and just a few pages in, you have to stop and sigh in contentment because you have absolute confidence that you're in good hands. You know that the story is going to draw you in and allow you to lose yourself in the wonder of it all.
I love that feeling. I love it when people make beautiful things and then send them out into the world to give others joy.
That's exactly what I thought about when I took the first bite of this dish. A friend had recommended Alice Hart's gorgeous cookbook Vegetarian and this was the first recipe I tried. Insanely delicious, my friends. The flavour was so good it was almost shocking, each element in perfect harmony with the others.
People are eating a lot less meat these days, so I am always looking for inventive vegetarian recipes to feed friends. If you have any plant-eating pals hanging around, feeling slightly forlorn about the steady diet of veggie burgers and tomato pastas they get served in restaurants, feel free to knock their socks off with this.
Warm couscous salad with preserved lemon & charmoula
Slightly adapted from Vegetarian by Alice Hart
Serves 4
4 young parsnips
3 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 preserved lemons, quartered
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 batch of charmoula (recipe to follow)
juice of 1 lemon
one small bunch of cilantro, leaves only
3/4 cup of Greek yogurt
salt and pepper, to taste
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Slice the parsnips lengthwise into halves or quarters depending on their size. Place in a roasting pan with the red peppers and coat with the olive oil and honey. Season with salt and pepper and roast for about 35 minutes, until caramelized.
3. Slice the flesh from the preserved lemons and discard. Cut peel into strips.
4. Cook Israeli couscous according to instructions on package.
5. Combine the roasted parsnips and peppers with the cooked couscous and add 1 tablespoon of the charmoula, along with the preserved lemon peel, lemon juice and most of the cilantro.
6. Ripple the remaining charmoula through the yogurt and serve spooned onto the salad. Garnish with the rest of the cilantro.
Charmoula
1 small bunch cilantro
1 small bunch parsley
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 teaspoon paprika
pepper, to taste
1. Finely chop cilantro and parley.
2. Combine with the rest of ingredients. If it seems too thick, add extra olive oil. Season with pepper, to taste.
3. Keeps, covered in the fridge, for up to 2 weeks.
