Coconut grain salad

Ingredients 1 can chickpeas, 1 cup pearl cous-cous, 150ml coconut cream, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 can puy lentils.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 20 minutes

It is a truth universally acknowledged that coconut is one of the best things ever. In a world where I do not give my family refined sugar and limit dairy products; coconut palm sugar, coconut blossom syrup and coconut oil, water and milk are constantly on our grocery list. When I was pregnant I consumed so much coconut water that I am not remotely surprised that my son is hopelessly addicted to it. That and it tastes like breastmilk.  
ANYWAY! This salad is subtle and lovely, an extremely lazy nod to rice and peas (one of my favourite dishes at Soul Kitchen - my review here) and super quick to make. Do excuse the slight grey tone of the picture, it was a VERY gloomy day!

1) Add the pearl cous-cous to a pan along with the coconut milk, cumin and thyme.

2) Bring to the boil and after about 8 minutes, turn off the heat, stir through and add the drained puy lentils and chickpeas.

3) The liquid should have cooked off, leaving just a gloss of coconut but if not, drain through a sieve before serving. I like to add a little black pepper and salt 

Halloumi & roast vegetable cous-cous

Ingredients 1 bell pepper, 1 courgette, 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 50ml passata, 100g halloumi, 1/2 cup giant cous-cous (I bought mine from Millie's Organic in Leeds).

Serves: 2 Preparation: 20 minutes

Cous-cous is made using semolina which has been sprinkled with water, hand rolled and then passed through a sieve, dusted with more semolina and rolled and passed through again to form the granules that you can buy in the shops. Cous-cous in Israel has a much larger granule and personally I prefer it, the texture is more like the bubbles in a tapioca pudding and it's absolutely delicious, absorbing flavour more intensely than the smaller grains do.
This recipe is a fabulous mixture of soft textures and strong flavours.

1) Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling salted water and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve and setting aside to cool.

2) Slice the tops from the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Remove the portions of flesh from between the membranes and slice into strips. Cut the courgette and halloumi into chunks and roast with the pepper on the top shelf of the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.

3) Stir the vegetables and cheese into the cous-cous along with the paprika and passata and a squeeze of lemon juice, then serve.

Stuffed Pumpkin: Saffron & orange cous-cous

Ingredients Pinch saffron, zest & juice of 1 orange, paprika, chilli powder, giant/Israeli cous-cous

Preparation: 45 minutes

Halloween is a comin' and I'm filled with festive ideas for serving food. These TEENY PUMPKINS are adorable but there's not a lot of good eating in them, so they're merely a receptacle for this exotic mixture of meltingly soft giant cous-cous and tangy spices.

1) Slice the top from your munchkin pumpkin and carve out the flesh and seeds.

2) Roast in the oven for 25 minutes and set aside.

3) To make the filling - Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling water with a pinch of saffron and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve. Stir in the orange zest, iuice paprika and chilli powder.

4) Spoon the filling into the munchkin pumpkin and bake for a further 15 minutes before serving.

Stuffed Cabbage: Giant cous-cous, pepper & tomato

Ingredients 6 Savoy cabbage leaves, 2 bell peppers, 6 baby plum tomatoes, 1 cup Giant (aka Israeli) cous-cous (I bought mine fromMillie's Organic in Leeds), Rachel's Organic Greek Yoghurt, mozarella, 1 tsp chilli powder, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp tomato puree.

Serves: 3 preparation: 30

I often get dejected emails from people who cannot or choose not to eat products containing flour and I'm always surprised by how many of them do not ever think of wrapping the contents of a sandwich in iceberg lettuce rather than bread or a tortilla, or don't think of using a razor thin shaving of courgette or other vegetables to replace pasta in tagliatelle or cannelloni. The same goes for the humble cabbage leaf. I would far rather use savoy cabbage over vine leaves - they taste fantastic, they're more robust and easier to handle and the fabulous wrinkly texture is perfect for stuffing because all the little nooks and crannies are filled. This dish has a gorgeous creamy sauce on the outside and a richer, slightly spicy centre.

1) Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling salted water and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve and setting aside to cool.

2) Slice the tops from the bell peppers and remove the seeds. Remove the portions of flesh from between the membranes and slice into strips. Roast in the oven along with the whole tomatoes for 15 minutes at 200 degrees, drizzled with a little oil.

3) Peel and crush the garlic and sautee in a little butter along with the spices and tomato puree, then stir in the peppers and tomatoes and the cous-cous.

4) Blanch the cabbage leaves in hot, salted water for 5 minutes, then plunge into ice-cold water so that the leaves retain their colour.

5) Dry thoroughly (I found shaking them outside before patting them with kitchen roll to be the easiest way) and spoon 2 tablespoons of the mixture into the centre. Roll up as you would a burrito and place seam side down in a casserole dish - as below.

6) Grate mozarella into Greek yoghurt and spoon over as much as you wish. Rather than completely covering the cabbage, I thought a tablespoon and a half or so on top of each leaf to be sufficient. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes until the sauce bubbles and serve!

Stuffed Costoluto Florentino tomatoes

Ingredients Tomato, giant (aka Israeli) cous-cous (I bought mine from Millie's Organic in Leeds), parsley, feta

Preparation: 15 minutes

If January was about showcasing unusual flavour combinations, then February has been a month of exploring unusual ingredients. This week I have been tasting different types of tomatoes, getting to grips with heirloom/heritage breeds and the different sizes, shapes, colours and flavours. Some tomatoes I ate like grapes, some were longing to be sprinkled with salt or splashed with balsamic vinegar, some were breathtakingly perfect in a caprese salad... I know that I am forever saying that tomatoes should be kept at room temperature, still on the vine and not in a chilled fridge encased in plastic but trust me on this, it makes a world of difference to cooking if you respect your ingredients.
The simplicity of this dish, the salty tang of feta combined with the fresh sweetness of the tomato and bubbled texture of the cous-cous was a triumph.

1) Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling salted water and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve and setting aside to cool.

2) Slice the top from the tomato and using a sharp knife, slice around the star-shaped core. Plunge a fork into the core, twist and remove it, then scoop out the seeds.

3) Slice the feta into matchsticks about the width of the ridges in your tomato and press the feta into the edges of the tomato, leaving the core empty.

4) Spoon the cous-cous into the gap and top with parsley before replacing the lid of the tomato. Bake for 5 minutes at 200 degrees and serve hot.

Kohlrabi tabbouleh

IngredientsGiant (aka Israeli) cous-cous (I bought mine from Millie's Organic in Leeds), tomatoes, parsley, 1 lime, salt, black pepper, paprika, cumin, kohlrabi, cucumber.

Preparation: 10 minutes

Traditionally when I make tabbouleh, it's all about the parsley. Lemon juice, mint, tomato, bulgar wheat and a little all-spice are present but the parsley takes centre stage. This weekend I got hold of some kohlrabi which I ADORE and couldn't think of a nicer way of serving it than creating a kohlrabi tabbouleh. Kohlrabi has a delecate balance of cabbage notes and sweet, nutty freshness. Texture-wise I wanted the crunch to really stand out so substituted the bulgar wheat for giant cous-cous. Cous-cous is made using semolina which has been sprinkled with water, hand rolled and then passed through a sieve, dusted with more semolina and rolled and passed through again to form the granules that you can buy in the shops. Cous-cous in Israel has a much larger granule and personally I prefer it, the texture is more like the bubbles in a tapioca pudding and it's absolutely delicious, absorbing flavour more intensely than the smaller grains do.

1) Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling salted water and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve and setting aside to cool.

2) Peel the kohlrabi with a sharp knife to remove the green skin, then slice the white flesh into chunks.

3) Wherever possible, buy your tomatoes on the day you need them, still attached to the vine and don't keep them in the fridge; it chills away all the sunshine from the flavour. Pick from the vine, rinse in lukewarm water and slice into quarters.

4) Wash the cucumber to remove any wax from the skin and slice into chunks.

5) Squeeze the lime into the cous-cous and stir through, loosening any sticky grains with your hands - add a generous handful of freshly picked chopped parsley and season well with salt and cracked black pepper.

6) Add a tiny sprinkle of ground cumin and paprika, then stir through the kohlrabi, tomatoes and cucumber.

I served this with some iceberg and raddiocho lettuce leaves to scoop up the tabbouleh which is traditionally eaten with the hands.

Giant cous-cous with roast aubergine

Ingredients 150g Giant (aka Israeli) cous-cous (I bought mine from Millie's Organic in Leeds), 2 limes, basil oil, 10g freshly chopped mint, 100g passata tomatoes, 3 baby aubergines, salt.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes

Cous-cous is made using semolina which has been sprinkled with water, hand rolled and then passed through a sieve, dusted with more semolina and rolled and passed through again to form the granules that you can buy in the shops. Cous-cous in Israel has a much larger granule and personally I prefer it, the texture is more like the bubbles in a tapioca pudding and it's absolutely delicious, absorbing flavour more intensely than the smaller grains do. The sauce contrasts so beautifully with the flavour of roast aubergine and it just melts in the mouth.

1) Slice the tops from the baby aubergines and slice into quarters, first lengthways and then widthways. Arrange skin side down in a roasting dish and sprinkle with salt to draw out the bitter juices. Drizzle with basil oil and roast in the oven at 220 for 30 minutes.

2) Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling salted water and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve and setting aside.

3) To make the dressing, squeeze the juice of 2 limes, a tablespoon of basil oil and the passata tomato into a pan and stir through.

4) Add some finely chopped mint, then stir through the cous-cous and aubergine.

Giant cous-cous with cucumber and king prawns

Ingredients 150g Giant (aka Israeli) cous-cous (I bought mine from Millie's Organic in Leeds), 1/4 cucumber, 2 limes, basil oil, 10g freshly chopped mint, 150g cooked and peeled king prawns, 100g passata tomatoes.

Serves: 2 Preparation: 10 minutes

Cous-cous is made using semolina which has been sprinkled with water, hand rolled and then passed through a sieve, dusted with more semolina and rolled and passed through again to form the granules that you can buy in the shops. Cous-cous in Israel has a much larger granule and personally I prefer it, the texture is more like the bubbles in a tapioca pudding and it's absolutely delicious, absorbing flavour more intensely than the smaller grains do.

1) Pour the cous-cous into a pan of boiling salted water and stir through for 6-8 minutes before straining in a sieve and setting aside.

2) To make the dressing, squeeze the juice of 2 limes, a tablespoon of basil oil and the passata tomato into a pan and stir through.

3) Add some finely chopped mint and the prawns, then stir through the cous-cous.

4) Serve with chunky pieces of cucumber for a contrasting crunch.