Fluffy couscous combined with a selection of colorful vegetables, chickpeas, toasted pine nuts, chopped prunes and Moroccan seasonings. You can enjoy this dish hot, or cold as a salad.

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus 1 teaspoon extra for the couscous)

1 zucchini (courgette)—quartered lengthways and cut in half

1 red pepper (capsicum)—deseeded and quartered

1 red onion—cut into wedges and separated into pieces

1 carrot—quartered lengthways and cut in half

2 cups sweet potato—cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup couscous

1¼ cups boiling chicken or vegetable stock

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup green beans—ends trimmed and cut in half

2 tablespoons pine nuts

2 tablespoons chopped pitted prunes

½ cup canned chickpeas—rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 clove garlic—minced (crushed)

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

PREHEAT the oven to 200°C/400°F. TOSS the prepared vegetables (except green beans) in a large baking dish in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to coat. COVER tightly with foil and roast for 20 minutes. REMOVE the foil, increase the oven temperature to 225°C/435°F and bake for a further 25 minutes. WHILE the vegetables roast, steam or boil the green beans until tender and lightly toast the pine nuts in a frying pan. ABOUT 5 minutes before the vegetables finish roasting, place the couscous in a bowl, pour over the boiling stock, ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon olive oil, mix to combine, cover the bowl and allow to steam for 5 minutes. MIX together the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, ginger and cinnamon in a small bowl until well combined. ONCE the vegetables are cooked, remove from the oven, cover with the foil and stand for 5 minutes to allow the skin to steam off the peppers more easily, then remove the skin when cool enough to handle and cut the flesh into strips. CHOP the carrot into pieces. WHEN the couscous is ready, use a fork to separate the grains. MIX together the couscous, prunes, pine nuts, chickpeas and parsley, then add the roast vegetables, drizzle the dressing over everything and toss gently to combine.

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