Pumpkin and Cous Cous
This recipe keeps everyone well fed with minimum effort, which is the main thing on a busy week night. Throughout the week I try and cook more plant based meals for us all, using an ingredient like this delicious and substantial pumpkin, as the star of the dish. Here I have used a pumpkin called Delica which is delicious if you can get hold of some. Roast with the skin on, as I can’t be bothered to peel any pumpkin raw, it takes ages… I just pull the skin off when serving up. In the Summer I would substitute pumpkin for butternut squash.
Delicious served with giant couscous which adds a lovely nutty base to the dish. I am using giant wholewheat couscous, but you could use regular giant couscous, or plain couscous. I reocmmend rehydrating the couscous with homemade vegetable stock to add flavour.
ingredients
serves 4
1kg, or 1, small pumpkin (Delica variety)
2 red onions, peeled and quartered
fresh sage leaves
1 small bulb of garlic, cloves broken a part but unpeeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
75-80g kale (1/2 a bag approx), washed, picked over and woody stems removed
to serve: 200g giant couscous, cooked according to the packet instructions, in homemade (or no salt) vegetable stock
method
Preheat the oven to 180C fan oven and prep the pumpkin: wash, trim (I don’t peel as it is much easier to remove the skin before serving), cut into large dice. For one small pumpkin I would halve and then cut each halve into quarters. In a bowl toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil. and a grind of black pepper.
Next, take a lined baking tray place the pumpkin chunks on the tray, with the quartered red onion, garlic cloves and sage leaves. (Toss the sage leaves and garlic in a little olive oil first, to stop them burning). I place a sage leaf on top of each pumpkin piece. My children won’t eat the leaves, when I serve the dish, but I love them and they really leave their scent on the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin in the pre-heated oven and cook at 180C fan oven for 40 - 45 mins, or until the pumpkin is completely cooked. Check with a knife and ensure the pumpkin is soft; remove from the oven and cool for a few minutes.
Whilst the pumpkin cooks take a second tray and scatter with the kale leaves, which I toss in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil first. They should be in a nice even layer. Roast for 10 minutes in the oven also at 180C fan oven - some will be crisp and other leaves wilted. Place to one side.
Cook the couscous according to the packet instructions using homemade vegetable stock.
To finsih the dish spread the couscous over a large bowl or platter, top with the roasted pumpkin (remove the skin which should now pull away easily), red onion wedges and crispy sage leaves. Squeeze out the cooked garlic onto the couscous also top with a final scatter of the roasted kale and drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil.
