Gently spiced fruit and nut cous cous with roasted squash

I sat in work this afternoon wondering what to make for dinner with what I had in, as my shopping wasn’t going to be delivered until late. This meant something from the freezer and cupboard. I always have butternut squash in the freezer – it’s a super food, low calorie and so versatile. I also have spices, nuts and cous cous and suddenly I started to crave something soft, fluffy, but crunchy and substantial too. So I came up with this.

What to use – serves one fairly greedy person

2 dried apricots

2 table spoons of sultanas

2 table spoons of cumin seeds

2 table spoons flaked almonds

1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds

sprinkle of paprika

100g cous cous

200g butternut squash

olive oil

juice of a lime

2 table spoons of greek /natural yoghurt

jewels from quarter a pomegranate

small bunch fresh coriander – chopped

small bunch parsley – chopped

sea salt and pepper

How to use it

First, the butternut squash. I use frozen already cubed squash. Put the oven on to 180 fan. Put the squash onto a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle over a table spoon of cumin seeds, and a small sprinkle of paprika and sea salt. Put in the oven for 30 minutes.

Put your flaked almonds, another table spoon of cumin seeds and mustard seeds into a non-stick frying pan and gently toast them. This will take around 10 minutes.

Cut up your apricots and put them, with the sultanas, into a bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave to soak for 5 minutes.

Chop up your coriander and parsley – leave an unchopped bit aside to garnish.

Boil the kettle again, and put your cous cous and a pinch of sea salt into a bowl. Pour over boiling water, cover and leave. Do this about 5 minutes before you want to eat. You typically need twice the water to cous cous.

Once the cous cous is ready, combine the ingredients – add a glug of olive oil, squeeze of half the lime, the almonds (leave a few aside to garnish), herbs, spices, and fruit. Pile into your eating bowl. Top with your roasted butternut squash. Then garnish with a few more almonds, a spoon of yoghurt and herbs, and squeeze over more lime juice. The butternut is sweet so it benefits from spice and citrus to cut through it.

Eat.

 

Mmm rating: mm mm mm

Cost per person: £2.20

Calories: 600