The Recipe Room

Another Middle-Eastern inspired dish, this couscous salad is a light yet satisfying little treat.  Let the subtle blend of flavours contained in every mouthful transport you in your imagination to the star-filled sky of the Sahara desert or the shores of the Mediterranean sea. (Also try this rice salad with spinach and avocado.)

The recipe itself is deceptively simple. The only thing you need to be careful about is the roasting of the pine nuts – just one second of distraction, and it can all go wrong before you realise what’s happened!  The recipe suggests toasting the nuts in a pan on the stove-top, but alternatively this can be done in the oven.  Just spread them out on a baking sheet lined with parchment, bake at around 190ºc for about 5 minutes, shake the tray, and bake another few minutes until they smell nice and nutty.  You still have to be very careful not to burn them though, so don’t let your guard down!

Cheddar cheese, potatoes, cream, spinach and pine nuts, grilled to perfection au gratin, this spinach and potato gratin dish has quite literally every single one of my favourite comfort foods, all rolled together into one, big, brilliant recipe!  I make absolutely no claims as to the healthiness of this creation, but sometimes you just want to forget all about that and just eat something that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This dish definitely fits that bill!

Personally, I leave the skins on the potatoes, and since they’re supposed to be the healthy part anyway, I don’t feel too guilty about stuffing my face with this every once in a while. (Also try this potato au gratin with pesto and salmon steaks. Just take out the salmon to make it vegetarian, or perhaps you could replace it with tofu!)

 

I remember loving the meatballs in tomato sauce that my mother used to make when I was growing up, so the other day I decided to try and make a vegetarian version.  This chickpea falafel with tomato sauce recipe was the result.  The texture is, of course, slightly different than the lamb-based or peri-peri meatballs my mother specialised in, but the lemon, garlic and Italian parsley give them a subtle flavour that  is offset nicely by the tomato and thyme sauce.  Enjoy!

What you’re going to need:

For the falafel:

• 400g cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 bunch fresh Italian parsley
• 1tsp grated lemon zest
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the tomato sauce:

• 500g tomatoes
• 1/2 bunch fresh thyme
• 1tbsp pine nuts
• 170ml crème fraîche
• Salt and pepper to taste

What you have to do:

1. Drain the chickpeas well.
2. Peel and mince the onion and the garlic.
3. Wash the parsley and finely chop the leaves.
4. Place the chickpeas, onion, garlic, parsley, and lemon zest in a food processor and blend to a paste.
5. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Let the mixture stand for about 30 minutes.
7. Form the mixture into walnut-sized balls.
8. In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat.
9. Add the falafel and sauté for 10 minutes, shaking the pan at regular intervals so that they brown evenly.
10. Remove the falafel from the pan and keep them warm in the oven at the lowest setting.
11. While the falafel is frying, prepare the tomatoes for the sauce by removing the cores.
12. Submerge the tomatoes in boiling water for a few seconds, then transfer to a bowl of cold water to loosen the skin.
13. Remove the skin, cut into quarters, and chop finely.
14. Wash the thyme and strip the leaves from the stems.
15. Add the remaining oil to the pan.
16. Add the pine nuts and thyme and sauté for 20 seconds.
17. Add the tomatoes and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes over medium heat.
18. Mix in the crème fraîche and season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
19. Arrange the falafel on 4 plates. Pour the sauce over them and serve.

 

Preparation Time:  15 minutes + 30 minutes setting

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves:  4

Difficulty: Medium