Spiced Israeli Couscous Salad with Eggplant, Yoghurt and Harissa
Ingredients:
1 large eggplant, cut into 10 short, thick wedges
Olive oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper
Couscous:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 cup Alexandra’s Israeli Couscous
1/2 tsp each ground turmeric, allspice, cinnamon and smoked paprika
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 1/2 cups chicken / vegetable stock or water
1 crisp apple, diced
5 dates, pitted and chopped roughly.
To serve:
Large handful coriander, chopped roughly
Thick plain yoghurt
Alexandra’s Harissa
1 lemon, quartered
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Place the eggplant on a baking tray and brush with oil then season. Roast for 20-30 minutes until golden and tender but not falling apart. Cool.
For the couscous, heat the oil in a medium saucepan and cook the onion with a pinch of salt for 5 minutes. Add the couscous and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until toasted and golden. Be careful to not let it catch and burn.
Add all the spices and garlic and cook for 10 seconds. Stir in the stock and bring to the boil. Cover then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave covered for 20 minutes to finish the cooking process.
Uncover and stir in the apples and dates. Leave to cool completely – any remaining liquid will be absorbed by the couscous.
To serve, stir the coriander into the couscous then transfer to a large platter. Top with the eggplant and spoon over the dollops of yoghurt then Harissa. Squeeze the lemons over everything and drizzle with olive oil.
Recipe inspired by Farro Fresh
Photography & styling by Emma Kinsella
