Roasted Vegetable and Couscous Salad

I've a feeling a number of my blogs will have something to do with France or French food. I am not a food snob by any means but I have spent countless vacations in different parts of the country and I can definitely vouch for one thing; the French eat very well.

While other families would come home from vacation with the latest designer bags and shoes, our suitcases would be filled with cheese, baguettes, or anything else that we could possibly freeze and eat in the following months.

One of my favorite dishes was served to us in a small rural town in France. It was a hot sweltering day and my sister and I had been horse riding for several hours. When we returned to the farm, the farmer's wife came out with a cold jug of lemonade and a light salad. The salad was perfect; an assortment of fresh roasted vegetables on a bed of couscous and lettuce, topped with chunks of cheese, and drizzled with a light vinegar dressing.

When we returned to Karachi my mother recreated it and her version definitely rivals the original. This salad served with bread is a perfect light and healthy lunch on a hot day. The great thing is that its simple to make and you can substitute the ingredients in the recipe with whatever vegetables and cheeses please your palate.

Roasted Vegetable and Couscous Salad

Ingredients

1 onion

3 tomatoes

1 eggplant

1 zucchini

lettuce

goat or feta cheese

160g of couscous

salt

pepper

1 heaped tsp garlic paste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a flat baking tray with foil and grease it with olive oil so the vegetables don't stick

Chop up all the vegetables into bite size chunks and coat them with the garlic paste in a bowl and then lay them on the baking tray. Sprinkle them with a generous amount of salt and few pinches of pepper . Drizzle them with a bit of olive oil. Make sure that the veggies don't overlap too much so that they all get roasted evenly. Leave in the oven for 30 -45 mins.

In the meantime add a cup of boiling water to the couscous, cover the bowl, and let it stand for 5 mins. Remove the lid and the couscous should be done.

Put a layer of lettuce on the plate and top it with couscous. Add the roasted vegetables and then place a few chunks of cheese on top just before serving.

For a simple dressing, mix together 4 tbsp of olive oil with 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar. Add some salt and pepper and shake well.