We tried out a delicious new recipe yesterday which I found in the latest international edition of Flow Magazine (issue 9). It is taken from Rachel Khoo’s book, My Little French Kitchen, and there are a few more recipes from the book in the magazine too (all of which look yummy!). The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it to serve 4 as a starter or 2 as a main, so it would be great for all occasions. The recipe says that it takes 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook, but it only took us 45 from start to finish so we’ll definitely be having this on a weeknight some time soon! It’s also wonderfully light and fresh, and is a great vegetarian meal.

 

Ingredients

 

2 cloves of garlic, peeled

A pinch of salt

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp Espelette pepper (we don’t have this, so used sweet smoked paprika instead – you could use cayenne pepper)

2 medium aubergines (eggplants)

A handful of chopped parsley to garnish (we used chives instead)

 

For the couscous

160g/1 cup of couscous

Zest of 1 lemon

A pinch of salt

180ml/ 3/4 cup boiling water

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

 

For the yoghurt sauce

6 tbsp plain natural yoghurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

A pinch of salt (we left this out and it was still yummy!)

 

Method

 

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

 

2. Pound the garlic and salt in a pestle and mortar until it forms a smooth paste. Blend in the oil, tomato paste and Espelette pepper (or alternative).

 

3. Cut the aubergines lengthways into 2cm-thick slices. Cut out the spongy core and then place the batons on the tray. Brush with the spicy marinade and then place in the middle of the oven to cook for 30 minutes (or until tender).

 

4. When you have just over 5 minutes to go, boil the kettle for the couscous. Place the couscous in a large bowl with the lemon zest and salt, and then pour over the boiling water. Leave to stand for 5 minutes.

 

5. Make the yoghurt sauce by mixing the yoghurt with the lemon juice and salt. Drizzle the oil over the couscous and fluff it up with a fork.

 

6. Serve the aubergine chips on a bed of couscous, drizzle over some yoghurt sauce and sprinkle with some chopped parsley or chives. Enjoy! 🙂