‘Mint’ is having a wonderful time in our garden this Summer. The intense heat one day & then the torrential rain the next is allowing this gorgeous herb to go a whole lot of ‘nuts’. I do really love playing with herbs. They never fail to add a little magic to every dish, every single time.

Today, I have cooked up roasted vegetables with an extra minty chermoula and a delicious tahini infused yoghurt.

A fantastic dish that is both nourishing and delicious. Dont be alarmed by the ingredients or the time. The vegetables can be left to do their thing whilst you do yours.

I have tweaked my usual chermoula recipe to be mint heavy. If you have a glut of mint, I suggest you do the same.

Happy Meatless Monday & wishing you a really special week ahead.

Nellie
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Slow roasted vegetables with minty chermoula and pearl couscous

Cooking vegetables on a low temperature for a longer period gives you a sweeter and far tastier vegetable.

Extra virgin olive oil
1 quantity of chermoula – recipe below but for this here recipe, I have tweaked my usual chermoula to be mint heavy. If you have a glut of mint, I             suggest you do the same)
250 g Israeli couscous
Vegetables of your choosing (In this Summer dish, I have opted for carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, capsicum & cauliflower), chopped to remain rather chunky
Sea salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
250 g Israeli couscous

To serve

Tahini yoghurt *
Mint leaves

Preheat the oven to 120 C fan-forced.

Place your choice of vegetables on a large roasting tray. Toss with 60 ml extra virgin olive oil and 3-4 tablespoons of chermoula. Sprinkle generously with sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper. Roast for 90 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 200 C and roast for a further 15 minutes or until the vegetables are just a little charred and tender.

Cook the couscous as per packet instructions. It is generally one part couscous to two parts water or stock.

Transfer the couscous to a serving platter. Pile the vegetables on top. Splash with extra chermoula and tahini yoghurt. I like to also serve with additional chermoula & yoghurt on the side for family and friends to help themselves to.

* For the tahini yoghurt, mix together ½ cup natural yoghurt with 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice as well as ¼ cup tahini paste and 2-3 tablespoons of water.

Chermoula

Chermoula is a beautiful spice mix that is used often in Moroccan cooking for great depth of flavour. It is commonly used for marinating fish & chicken & vegetables.

3 cloves garlic, chopped, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika, 2 teaspoons of ground cumin, 4 tablespoons of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, 4 tablespoons of coriander, roughly chopped, 4 tablespoons of fresh mint, roughly chopped, ½ teaspoon of dried chilli flakes or use 1 small red chilli, chopped, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, Freshly cracked black pepper

To make the chermoula, mix the garlic, herbs, spices, chilli, lemon juice and vinegar and ‘whizz’ in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and process until you have a smooth paste. Season with salt & pepper.