This is one of my all time favourite recipes to whip up – in fact I have made two huge batches of it last week alone. The recipe is so unbelievably easy, packed with nutrients and tastes delicious. The original recipe is from a vegetarian cook book, however altered it a bit to my culinary delights – which is what I have included here. You can pretty much add/subtract anything you like from the recipe, depending on what you like.

Moroccan Eggplant, Pumpkin & Couscous

What do I need?

1 cup of instant couscous

200ml olive oil

1 onion, halved & sliced

1 eggplant

1 butternut pumpkin

1 carrot

3 teaspoons ground cumin

1.5 teaspoons garlic salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon paprika

1 garlic clove, chopped finely

1 tablespoon coconut oil

a handful of roughly chopped parsley

What do I do?

1. Put the couscous in a large bowl. Add 375ml boiling water and leave for 10 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Fluff up the grains with a fork.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan. Saute the onion & garlic cloves until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

3. Cut the eggplant into 1cm slices, then into quarters, cut pumpkin into dice sizes, and slice carrot then chop into quarters. Place eggplant, pumpkin & carrot in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon, paprika and cumin together, then sprinkle over the vegetables, tossing well until coated.

4. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan and reheat over medium heat. Cook the vegetables until browned. Remove from pan.

5. Add the couscous into the pan with a tablespoon of coconut oil, cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the onion, vegetables and parsley. Serve at room temperature.

Tip – add some lean cuts of lamb to accompany this dish to get really in the theme of all things Morocco!