Clean bowled

It was too miserable and cold to venture out from beside the heater yesterday so I did a quick inventory of the fridge and pantry then went in search of a recipe for my findings.

Fortunately I didn’t have far to go. I’d just received a copy of Bowl Food for review and there I found just the sort of recipe I was looking for – Moroccan vegetable stew with minty couscous.

It was easy to make, didn’t require a lot of preparation and tasted really good. In fact, I’m betting the leftovers will taste even better after giving the flavours a bit of time to develop.

The fact that it happened to be a vegetarian dish as well, makes it doubly handy because I like to serve meatless meals at least once a week. It would also make a great side dish for a larger gathering.

Incidentally Bowl Food is part of a relaunch of Murdoch Books' excellent Chunky Food series (details below).



Moroccan vegetable stew with minty couscous

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
400 can diced tomatoes
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup (80g) sultanas
400g butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into 3cm cubes
2 large zucchini (250g) cut into 2cm pieces
2 carrots, cut into 2cm pieces
1 cup (185g) instant couscous
25g butter
4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until translucent but not brown. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and chilli flakes, and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato, chickpeas, sultanas and 1 cup (250ml) water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add the pumpkin, zucchini and carrot and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and black pepper.
Place the couscous in a large heatproof bowl. Cover with 1 cup (250ml) boiling water and leave to stand for 5 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and stir in the butter and mint. Season with salt and ground black pepper, and serve with the stew. Serves 4.

Recipe ©Murdoch Books, photo ©Pat Churchill

Bowl Food
ISBN 978-1741964141
Murdoch Books
RRP $19.95