GoodFoodWeek

A collection of recipes, an assortment of motherhood tales and a mixture of memories.

Roast veggie and old grain salad

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Wondering about all these new, old grains popping up on the market or how to cook it? If you already love couscous, or, you’re just curious about exploring different grains and foods from around the world, here’s what you need to know about cooking two of them up into a delicious ‘super food’ salad.

Israeli couscous, also called pearl couscous, is similar to regular couscous in that it’s a small, whole grain-like food made from semolina or wheat flour. While I’ve always seen it labeled as Israeli couscous, others might know it as “pearl couscous”, “Jerusalem couscous”, or, as it is known in Israel, “ptitim”.

Quinoa is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudo cereal  rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the true grass family. As a chenopod, quinoa is closely related to species such as beet roots, spinach and tumbleweeds.

These grains are pretty bland by themselves – so to make them super tasty you need to pull out a few tricks to make them pop in your mouth. Step number one is to boil them in stock rather than water. Step two is to add some seriously seasoned and tasty roast veggies – so the dressing to this salad is literally some extra virgin olive oil.

This super food salad is for anyone on the go – it will seriously fuel your body and takes next to no time to prepare (great for mummies with kids going crazy just as you’re trying to make dinner!)

ROAST VEGGIE AND OLD GRAIN SALAD
1 cup Israeli couscous
1/2 cup quinoa
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup pumpkin, cubed
1 cup red onion, cubed
1 cup red capsicum, cubed
1 punnet of grape tomatoes
3 gloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon corriander seed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
200 grams fetta
200 grams black olives

Place a tablespoon of oil into a baking dish and then add in the salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, turmeric, paprika, corriander seeds and cumin. Toss the pumpkin, red onion, red capsicum and grape tomatoes in the seasoned oil and roast for 40 minutes at 160 degrees.

Bring the chicken stock to the boil and then add the couscous and quinoa, simmer for 10 minutes and then allow to stand for 10 minutes. Add a tablespoon of oil to the mix and then fluff with a fork.

Allow everything to cool slightly, before adding the roasted veggies to the boiled grains. Add the remaining oil, lemon juice and parsley to the salad. Toss and then top with the crumbled fetta and pitted olives.

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