When the weather warms up it is always good to have foods that are going to fill us up, be good for us and are simple, easy and fuss free dishes to create. This salad is just that, it ticks all those boxes and the great flavours are an added bonus. I cannot remember how I came about this combination, but I have been making this salad for some years and it is great as an accompanying dish as well as on it’s own for a light lunch. A few basic ingredients put together to create a dish that even children enjoy, as my son loves having this salad.

Greek Salad

I do not add salt to this salad as the feta cheese is very salty, however if you are not using feta cheese then you may want to add a little salt.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 10 mins                 Serves: 2

175 g baby leaf spinach

250 g  cherry or baby plum tomatoes (cut in half if too big)

1 cup black olives (pitted) split in half

1/2 cup feta cheese cubed

a big glug of olive oil

fresh crushed black pepper to taste

Method

1) Remove any large stalks of the spinach. Ensure that the spinach is dry and then place in a large bowl. To this add the remaining ingredients, mix well together and you are ready to serve.

I was asked by my dear brother in-law some time back if there is such a thing as a vegetarian paella and I said yes just replace the meat or fish with vegetables.  I had never made it before but always enjoyed the passionate description given by TV chefs when they make or try paella. Every time I would say to myself I should make it but never did venture out to try and find a recipe or recreate a traditional paella with just vegetables.

So as he was coming around for dinner one day I thought  let me try making it. I looked at various different  traditional recipes. Some had just seafood and others with game and seafood mixed together. Certain things that came out of my research were that there is usually wine, saffron, and specific types of rice used. However the method changes per region and family recipe, much like the Indian biryani or the Creole rice dish jambalaya, which I make often. So I started thinking of the vegetables that I could use, or that would have similar colours to a seafood paella – orange, black, green, red etc. It turned out to be a tasty dish which we all enjoyed.

Vegetarian Paella

I used long grain rice instead of paella or arborio rice, the texture was very good and it gave an extra depth to the dish. Maybe next time I will use brown rice which should give it a more nuttier flavour and a nice texture compare to the usual basmati, which would not hold its shape in the cooking. Next time I will also add some chillies to give it a slightly more spicier kick (we found this to be too bland for our taste), and perhaps try different vegetables also.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 15 mins          Cooking time: 30 mins          Serves: 4

2 cups long grain rice

2 tbsp olive oil

1 litre of hot water

2 bay leaves

salt & pepper to taste

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tsp paprika powder

1/2 tsp turmeric (hardar) powder

1 pinch of saffron (kesar)

2 onions diced

1 leek sliced

1 small aubergine cut into cubes

1 courgette (zucchini) cut into semi circles

1 of each red & yellow capsicum (bell peppers) cubed

5 to 6 button mushroom quartered

Method

1) Wash and soak the rice in some hot water, while you prepare the vegetables. Chop into fairly large chunks and boil the water.

2) Pre heat a large sauce pan or wok on medium temperature. Drain the rice, add the oil to the pan and all  the ingredients and sauté for a few minutes, you will see a shine on the rice. Pour the hot water and cover and cook for 15 minutes. Mix and check to see if the rice is done, add more water if necessary and cook until all the water has evaporated. You are ready to serve with some lemon wedges.

On a recent visit to my local library I met a friend who was looking for ideas on hosting a dinner party for a few friends. She was thinking of a Moroccan theme so in my enthusiasm  I suggested serving Moroccan Style Vegetables with Couscous as it is so simple to make and would fit the theme she was thinking of.

I first saw a version of this recipe a couple of years back in a supermarket magazine where it was giving ideas on how to use a tagine and this was the vegetarian option. The vegetables were slightly different in the magazine so when I recreated it at home, I just used the vegetables that I had and it turned out to be really good. As I don’t have a tagine I just roasted the vegetables in the oven.

This recipe reminds me of the time when we went on a desert safari excursion on a trip to Dubai.  The desert  safari included a traditional meal and this dish was served as the vegetarian option. The vegetables were less tasty but the idea of the couscous I got from there so I mixed the two together to create this meal.

This dish of Moroccan Style Vegetables with Couscous works well for large gatherings where you want to try and have fuss free cooking plus it would be good to take on picnics as it tastes good when served cold. The best thing about this dish is the fact that not only is it simple to make,  especially for a large group, but it is vibrantly colourful, which to me is brilliant as half of the way we enjoy food comes from the visual impact.

I was told by Parita from Parita’s World about this event on Moroccan food hosted by Home Cook Recipes and originated by Holy Cow!

I look forward to seeing other vegetarian/vegan recipes from this event.

Moroccan Style Vegetables with Couscous

As mentioned before, you can use any Mediterranean style vegetables and you can add chillies if you want to make it more spicier. This mixture of vegetables also works well in wraps for an alternative lunch. I have found that the couscous requires a lot of salt in order for it to have a well balanced taste, I would say start by adding a little at a time to make sure it does not get too salty. The spice mix used to flavour the cous cous is a pre blended mix, however you can use either similar ingredients or any other spice mix that you feel will complement the flavours.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 20 mins          Cooking time: 1 hr         Serves: 4 to 6

For the vegetables

3 Courgettes (Zucchini) cut in chunks

4 red onions sliced

3 capsicums (Bell peppers) – one in each colour – red, green & yellow or orange

1 medium butter nut squash cubed into 2cm pieces

salt & pepper to taste

2 tsp each of ground cumin(jeeru) and cinnamon (taj) powder

2 tsp paprika powder

3 tbsp olive oil

For the Couscous

3 cups couscous

420 g canned chick peas drained and rinsed

3 tsp salt

2 tsp Arabic seasoning mix (cumin, coriander, black pepper, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, mint, onion, cloves, cinnamon, chilli and aniseed powder)

juice of 1 lemon

3 tbp olive oil

hot water

Method

1) Pre -heat the oven to 200′C. Chop all the vegetables into large chunks about 2 cm cubed pieces. For the zucchini/courgette I cut it half length ways and then chopped it into 1 cm semi circles. For the butternut squash I have learnt the hard way that you need proper sharp knife and peeler. Here is an excellent article on how to peel and cut butternut squash from SimplyRecipes.com

2) In a  large baking tray place all the vegetables, and pour the olive oil over the vegetables together with the spices and salt, mix thoroughly and place in the oven.

3) While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the couscous. Drain & rinse the chick peas and keep aside. Boil some water. In a large bowl, place the couscous, chick peas, seasoning and all the other ingredients. Pour boiling hot water, enough to cover the couscous and 2 cms extra and mix with a fork.  Making sure all the grains of couscous are coated with the spice, olive oil and lemon juice, keep on mixing at regular intervals just to make sure that the grains of couscous don’t lump together. Once the water has absorbed taste the couscous for the correct balance of flavours and to make sure the couscous is al dente, you can add a little extra hot water if needed and mix again with a fork.

4) Check on the vegetables and mix at regular intervals to ensure that the vegetables cook evenly and the spices mix well together. They should be cooked in about 30 mins, check to make sure, once cooked remove from the oven and you are ready to serve with the couscous, enjoy and let me know how you enjoyed the flavours.

If you are trying to eat healthy and wish to have a filling meal then some pasta with vegetables is a good idea. When I was a student one of my staple diets was pasta, with a simple tomato sauce and sometimes the odd dollop of Greek yoghurt. Now I am much more adventurous with my concoctions of pasta sauces. This particular one was inspired by mixing Indian spices with Mediterranean vegetables, I was quite pleased with the outcome. I really felt like I was eating a healthy meal.

Vegetable Pasta

I used the vegetables that I already had and felt like experimenting with them, however as usual you can use what ever you like. You can add more tomatoes if you like your sauce to be more rich. I like to use tricolour pasta as it looks pretty and I also mix wholemeal pasta as my husband wants us to eat more healthy,  so we are all happy. You can use penne or any other pasta for this recipe.

Ingredients

Preparation time:5 mins          Cooking time: 20 mins          Serves: 2

2 cups fusilli pasta (or what ever you are using)

1 tsp salt

hot water

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp each fennel (varyali) and nigella (kalonji) seeds

1 courgette chopped

1 red capsicum chopped

1 clove of garlic crushed

1/4 cup each green and black olives

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

salt and chilli flakes to taste

Method

1) Heat some hot water in a large pan, once it starts to boil add the pasta and salt, cook until done (al dente). Drain and give it a quick rinse in cold water, keep aside.

2) Heat a large non stick pan, once hot add the oil and the vegetables and spices, and cook until tender.

3) Add the olives and chopped tomatoes, cook a further few minutes and add the salt and chilli flakes. Add the cooked pasta, mix and switch off the heat. After a few minutes of standing time you are ready to serve. Cheese is optional, as it tasted good with or without cheese. Let me know what you think of the taste if you make it.

A few years back I had tried a shop bought wrap, which was the only vegetarian option available in that shop. It had a wonderful combination of vegetables – capsicums, sweet potato, onion etc. So as per normal I tried to re-create my own version. At first I used vegetables that I would have cooked, say in a pan or wok such as the savoury filling, then I thought of using char grilled roast vegetables instead.

This is a very simple and flavourful wrap. I do not use any herbs, salt and pepper, or spices but it still tastes good – simple flavours of the vegetables and the condiments. It is just amazing how you can taste all of the combination of vegetables used. This makes a simple wrap into a flavourful meal. These wraps are good eaten hot or cold, so make a good picnic food or lunches. If you make a meal out of it then perhaps serve them with a side salad or potato wedges.

For the condiments I use soft cheese spread and sundried tomato oliviada paste to give the vegetables the added flavour. Oliviada is a recipe I saw in a vegetarian cookbook, the recipe had just black olives, garlic and olive oil, and to this I added the sundried tomatoes.  As it is a good simple paste to have I usually make a jars worth and it keeps well for a month in the fridge.

Char grilled vegetable wraps

Instead of plain wraps, try getting wraps that have added flavour, such as multi-grain or Mediterranean herbs. Instead of adding soft cheese spread and olivada you can use plain or flavoured houmous/hummus. If you do not have a griddle pan, roast the vegetables in the oven until they are golden brown.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 30 mins        Cooking time: 30 mins      Serves: 2

6 to 8 wraps

250 g soft cheese spread

150 g sundried tomato olivada

1 small red and green capsicum thick stripes

3/4 mushrooms sliced

1 medium red onion sliced

1 cup butternut squash or sweet potato cubed into 2 cm square pieces

1 small courgette (zucchini) slices

1 tbsp olive oil

For the sundried tomato oliviada

80 g pitted black or green olives roughly chopped

60 g sun dried tomato – soaked in hot water and then roughly chopped

1 large clove of garlic

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp fresh crushed black pepper

* Blend the above to a coarse puree in a blender or food processor. If you are using marinated olives you will need less oil, if using dry olives then you may need more olive oil. *

Method

1) Chop the vegetables and place them in a bowl with the olive oil.   Coat the vegetables in the oil (you can use a spray if you prefer) and place on a preheated griddle pan and cook on both sides and keep aside.

2) Warm the tortilla wraps on both sides. Spread the soft cheese spread and oliviada paste all over one side of the  tortilla then place some of the vegetables in a long pile in the middle of the wrap but not all the way to the edge.

3) From both ends of the vegetable pile, fold the sides of the wrap in towards the middle. Now fold the bottom of the wrap into the centre, then roll it to cover the rest of the vegetables. This should make a small parcel like a burrito. Finally cut it in half and enjoy.

]]> http://radiancerecipes.com/char-grilled-vegetable-wraps/feed/ 1 http://radiancerecipes.com/couscous-salad/ http://radiancerecipes.com/couscous-salad/#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:17:07 +0000 Kiran http://radiancerecipes.com/?p=259

I first had couscous around five years ago at work where I would regularly have it in various different combinations during lunch. I had seen it being made on TV many times but had never made it at home so I decided to try it one day. After a lot of attempts, I came up with this combination recently of chargrilled vegetables and feta cheese, and it seems to work quite well. Couscous does not have any specific taste, it is a very versatile grain and can take lots of different flavours, this makes it an ideal filler for salads. Due to the stripes created by the griddle pan on the carrots and parsnips, my son says it is tiger & zebra salad. It is a fun way of making sure he eats his food, as I am sure most of you will agree, it is an uphill battle to get them to eat what is good for them.

Couscous salad

You can choose what ever vegetables you like to make this salad, and if you do not have a griddle pan then just spray or brush a little olive oil on the vegetables and cook them in a saucepan until slightly golden. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds can also be added to the salad and the cheese can be changed to halloumi.

Ingredients

Preparation time: 20 mins    Cooking time: 45 mins    Serves : 2

1 cup couscous

1 tsp salt

1/2 lemon, juice and rind

3 tsp harissa herb mix

2 tbsp olive oil

Hot water

1 of each, carrot, parsnip, courgette

200g feta cheese

1 cup olives green or black

Method

1) In a large bowl, place the couscous and all the other ingredients apart from the vegetables, feta cheese and olives. Pour boiling hot water, enough to cover the couscous and 2 cms extra and mix with a fork.  Making sure all the grains of couscous are coated with the spice, olive oil and lemon rinds, keep on mixing at regular intervals just to make sure that the grains of couscous don’t lump together. Once the water has absorbed taste the couscous for the correct balance of flavours and to make sure the couscous is al dente, you can add a little extra hot water if needed and mix again with a fork.

2) Chop the vegetables at a slight angle, about 2 mm thick, coat with a little olive oil and place on a preheated griddle pan or place them on the saucepan if using that. Cook until brown on each side.

3) Once they are all cooked mix with the couscous and add the feta cheese and olives. If you are using halloumi cheese, you can cook this on the griddle pan or saucepan and then add it to the couscous. Your salad is ready to enjoy, warm or cold.