Roasted Vegatable Couscous #NowCookIt

Now Cook It is a new website that's just launched and includes a range of recipes to help get people cooking. As part of #NowCookIt campaign, I was sent a mystery box of items and a recipe for me to make. In the box included all the items need to make a Roasted Veg Couscous - which is one of my favourite things to eat!

I love couscous. It's easy to make, tasty and the perfect complement to many meals - or great as a light lunch. Couscous is my favourite; it's healthy, and you can vary endlessly with it - hot or cold, couscous is the bomb.

Ingredients

• 1 red onion (or white)

• 1 red pepper

• 1 lemon

• 1 clove of garlic

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 courgette

• 100g couscous

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• 1 tsp dried oregano

• 2 plum tomatoes

• 50g cucumber

• ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt

Method

Peel the onion and cut it into rough chunks, separating all of the layers. Deseed and dice the pepper into 2cm squares. Cut the courgette into similar sized pieces. Squash the garlic clove a little but leave whole and in its peel to protect it in the oven. Cut the lemons in half.

Place the onion, pepper, courgette, lemon (cut side up) and garlic clove onto the preheated roasting tray. Toss with the olive oil and season before roasting on the top shelf in the oven for 20 minutes, it should all be just soft and slightly charred. 

Boil water in a kettle. Pour the couscous into a large mixing bowl, I pour enough of the water so it covers the couscous with a couple of centimetres on top.
Mix in the coriander and oregano, then pour in the same volume (using the same small dish as a guide) of boiling water. 
Cover the bowl with Clingfilm or a plate and leave to cool and absorb the liquid for 10 minutes. Remove the roasted garlic clove from the roasting tray, peel and mash up with the back of a fork.  Squeeze the roasted lemon halves, through a sieve to catch pips into the softened couscous. Mix in the roasted veg and mashed garlic, then mix it all up with a fork and leave to cool to room temperature.

Quarter the tomatoes and cut the seeds and pulp away from their middles, then dice the flesh. Dice the cucumber into small cubes. Add both to the couscous salad and season to taste.

Your couscous is now ready!

Add a bit of Greek yoghurt on the side and drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil. Yummy.