A flavourful, hearty Moroccan Couscous dish packed with roasted vegetables, chickpeas and almonds. It’s perfect for summer ! Enjoy as a healthy lunch or as a side with fish or chicken for a filling, exciting dinner.
So What’s In This Couscous?
- fresh veggies – bell peppers, carrots, onion, zucchini and garlic
- fresh cilantro and mint
- lemon
- spices – turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and coriander
- olive oil
- low-sodium chicken broth
- chickpeas
- almonds
- raisins
- couscous
How can this amazing salad not taste good with flavours like that? You can also easily adapt this couscous with your favourite veggies it’s great for using up what you have in you kitchen.
INGREDIENTS
How to Make This Tasty Couscous
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Grease baking sheet
- Add veggies, drizzle with oil and season.
- Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.
- Whisk olive oil, lemon, garlic and most spices.
- Bring chicken broth and turmeric to a boil.
- Pour hot chicken broth over couscous and raisins in bowl and toss
- Cover and rest 5 minutes.
- Add roasted vegetables, chick peas, almonds, cilantro, mint and lemon mixture and toss.
HOW TO MAKE MOROCCAN COUSCOUS WITH ROASTED VEG
Preheat the oven to 220°C (430°F).
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of oil over a large oven dish or pan and add the diced pepper, onion, carrot, courgette, and drained chickpeas (1). Sprinkle with salt, toss well, and roast for 15-20 minutes or until the veg is tender and starting to colour slightly.
Once the veg is tender, remove from the oven and set aside (2).
In a small mixing bowl, combine the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, crushed garlic, salt, and pepper (3). If you have a large lemon with a lot of zest, start with around half then add more zest to taste later on.
Using a pan with a tight-fitting lid, heat the pan over low-medium heat and add the dried couscous to the dry pan (4). Toast for 2-3 minutes, then add the cumin seeds along with a small drizzle of oil. Toast for another 2 minutes or until the couscous is golden brown, moving regularly to avoid burning.
Once the couscous and cumin seeds are toasted, remove the pan from the heat. Mix in the ground cinnamon, ground turmeric, and raisins, then pour over the boiling water or vegan stock.
Cover with a lid and leave to steam for around 5 minutes or until the couscous is soft. Once soft, fluff up the couscous lightly using a fork (5).
In a large bowl, combine the couscous with the roasted veg and chickpeas. Roughly chop the fresh coriander, then add this to the bowl along with the lemon dressing (6). Mix everything well, adjust the seasoning to taste, and serve.
Moroccan Couscous with Roasted Vegetables Chickpeas and Almonds
Ingredients
- 1 large, deseeded and diced Red bell pepper
- 2 medium, halved and thinly sliced carrots
- 1 small, diced into chunks red onion
- 1 medium, halved and sliced zucchini
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp Ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- 1 1/3 cups dry couscous
- 1 can chicken broth (low sodium)
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup toasted silvered almonds
- 3 tbsp cilantro
- 2 tbsp fresh mint
Instructions
- Prepare oven by preheating to 475 degrees and spray baking sheet with cooking spray
- Place your carrots, bell pepper and zucchini on the baking shit then drizzle one 1 tablespoon of olive oil to coat. Add a little salt and toss lightly. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for about 15 minutes until tender. You may also broil for 1-2 minutes to char lightly if you want.
- While the vegetables are roasting, mix the remaining olive oil, cumin, garlic, lemon juice, coriander, salt (¼ teaspoon) and cinnamon then set aside.
- In a pot, bring the chicken broth, turmeric and salt (½ teaspoon) to boil. Mix the raisins and couscous in a bowl and pour in the boiled chicken broth then stir. Cover this bowl with a plastic wrap for about 4-5minutes.
- Add in the roasted vegetables, almonds, chickpeas, cilantro, lemon mixture and mint then toss until all the ingredients are coated.
- serve warm
CORN FRITTERS ( How to make corn fritters )
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