Deep Winter ‘22 | Vegetable Couscous with Coriander and Nut Salsa
Season:
Deep Winter
Yarra Valley (June – Mid July)
Element:
Water
Wurundjeri:
Waring, Wombat Season
Support:
Bladder and kidney
Storehouse of movement | drive and motivation with firm footing
Recipe:
Sally Coyle – Yarra Valley
Ingredients
350g couscous
Coriander and Nut Salsa
4-6oz/125-180g fresh coriander (1 big bunch)
2 green chillies
juice and grated zest of 2 limes
2 confit garlic cloves
[call on your larder of preserves and bottling from Early Winter]
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
a few drops of sesame oil
a few walnuts or cashews or pine nuts or any nut you fancy.
salt
Vegetable Stew
4 tbs unsalted butter, gee or substitute for coconut or olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and cut in chunks
½ tsp each cumin seeds, ground black pepper, cayenne, salt
1 cinnamon stick
pinch of saffron or turmeric
2inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and shredded
1 can chick peas, drained
2 potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
3 carrots, cut in chunks
8oz/250g pumpkin
1 sweet potato
1 parsnip
A couple of turnips
handful raisins
handful dried apricots, sliced
8 oz/250g beans
2 red peppers, cut in chunks
fresh coriander
Method
If you are too pressed for time to steam couscous, simply pour an equal volume boiling water (or even better, good stock) over it, cover, and set aside until liquid is absorbed – about 10 mins. Fluff with a fork and stir in a spoonful of butter.
Prepare couscous by washing, leaving for 10 mins, then working out lumps. Steam, uncovered, for 20 mins in a sieve over simmering water (without touching water). Let cool slightly, then work in a little oil to dissolve any lumps.
For sauce, process coriander leaves and stalks with chilies and lime zest to a puree; slowly add oil and juice. Salt to taste.
In a large casserole, soften onion in butter over medium heat. Stir in spices and cook until aromatic, then add all vegetables except beans, peppers and coriander and stir well. Add 1pt/570ml water or stock, bring to boil, lower heat and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 25 mins), adding beans and peppers for last 10 mins. Add fresh coriander and check for seasoning.
In a couscoussier, the couscous would steam over this stew. Instead steam for 10 mins over water, then stir in plenty of butter. Whisk a few tbs of vegetable stock into sauce and serve a mound of couscous with vegetables in middle and green sauce on side.
Alternatively served with steamed quinoa.
Kitchen Table Wisdom
The kitchen table has always been a place where seasonality, ancestral skills, lifestyle elixirs, and lore meet; simple and sustaining, routine and extraordinary.
From the kitchen tables of London haute cuisine to Yarra Valley paddock-to-plate, international flavour enthusiast Sally Coyle designs a collection of Botanica Editions menus to help us sync with the soulful rhythms of the seasons. The perfect antidote to the hustle of contemporary life.
Dive into the full Deep Winter ’22 menu of nourishing, make-at-home dishes created by Sally exclusively for the Botanica Editions community.