Antipasti couscous salad

“I’ve made this dish three times and Danya twice since we shot it for our blog. We’re calling it our best bet for 2014. There’s something about the combination of the ingredients that make it the perfect salad to have on hand at all times. It can be a meal or a side and, if it could only babysit, it would really be perfect. You can use any vegetables for the antipasti, thought I wouldn’t skip the sweet potato because it gives the salad a really nice sweetness. I’ve used broccoli, beetroot and carrot, and they all work great.” Deanna

• serves

  4-6

• prep

  25 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 eggplant, cut into small cubes
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced
• 2 orange sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into small cubes
• 1 small cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• 300 g (1½ cups) wholewheat couscous (see Note), cooked to packet instructions
• sea salt, to taste
• handful of coriander (cilantro) or parsley leaves, to serve

Vinaigrette

• 2 tbsp tahini paste
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

To make the antipasti, place the vegetables on 2 baking trays lined with baking paper. Drizzle over the oil and bake for 25 minutes or until soft and golden.

Place all the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar. Cover with a lid and shake until well combined.

Place the couscous in a large bowl and top with most of the antipasti. Pour over the vinaigrette, season with the salt, then gently toss to combine.

Scatter with the coriander and serve warm or at room temperature with the remaining antipasti.

Note

• Wholewheat couscous is available from specialty food shops. Substitute regular couscous. 

Recipes, photography and styling from Matkonation by Danya Weiner and Deanna Linder.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.