Tarragon couscous with roasted pumpkin

Taken from "VEG: simple, stylish and seasonal vegetarian cooking" by Catherine Mason (Pauntley Press, 2001, ISBN: 0-9534879-2-8, price £12.99)
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This is a nice dish of simple, clean flavours for springtime or early summer, when the new tarragon has emerged in the garden and there are still some good pumpkins and winter squashes available from storage. I often make it with butternut squash, as they are easy to obtain, tasty and a manageable size, but any well-flavoured pumpkin or winter squash will do.

Although I usually serve the dish with Parmesan cheese, this (and the small quantity of butter used in the cooking) can be omitted to make the dish completely vegan, in which case add a scattering of roasted pine kernels to garnish.

• about 700 g (1½ lb) of pumpkin peeled, de-seeded and cut into 2 cm (1 inch) chunks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 15 g (½ oz) butter (vegans substitute olive oil)
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 250 g (9 oz) couscous
• 380 ml (13 fl oz) vegetable stock
• a pinch of saffron threads, softened in 2 tablespoons of boiling water
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh French tarragon
• to serve: freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (vegans omit) or a few roasted pine kernels, but not both

Pre-heat the oven to 240°C (460°F, gas 9)

Toss the pumpkin chunks in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a little salt. Place them in a baking tray in a single layer, uncovered, and roast in the hot oven. Stir once, half way through the cooking time (about 20 minutes in total, although the exact time depends on the type of pumpkin used). The pumpkin chunks should be tender but not disintegrating.

Meanwhile, fry the onions in the remaining olive oil and butter over a medium heat until they are softened and slightly browned. Add the garlic (just for the last couple of minutes of the onion cooking time to avoid burning it), then stir in the couscous. Add the vegetable stock and stir gently with a fork to break up the lumps of couscous, then cover the pan with a lid, turn the heat down as low as it will go, and cook very gently for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally with a fork. About half way through the 15 minutes fork in the saffron and its liquid.

Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary, then just before serving, stir in the chopped tarragon. Serve with the roasted pumpkin on the side, and pass around freshly grated Parmesan cheese for those who want it.

SERVES 3

Recipe copyright © 2001 Catherine Mason | other sample recipes