Vegetarian Beryl Lee shares the recipe for her roast vegetable salad.
Beryl Lee has lived in Otago most of her life. Her husband has been vegetarian for 34 years and their children were brought up vegetarian.
It was difficult in the early days, as there were few vegetarian cookbooks available until the early 1980s, she said. People didn't know how to cater for those who didn't eat meat and would just take the meat off the plate.
Even today when vegetarians are more common, many restaurants have only one vegetarian option on their menu and some institutions don't cater well for them, she said.
When she and her family visited friends for dinner she would always take a vegetarian dish, and this roasted vegetable salad is always popular - she says the meat eaters enjoy it and often leave none for the vegetarians.
Spicy roast vegetable salad with couscous
Serves 4 hungry vegetarians or for 8 as a side dish
For the vegetables:
4kg assorted vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips, pumpkin, kumara, carrots, and yams; and soft vegetables such as courgettes, red peppers, broccoli, onions, florence fennel, asparagus, mushrooms.
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped salt and pepper
2-3 stalks fresh coriander, chopped
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
For the couscous:
250g couscous
500ml boiling water or vegetable stock
salt and pepper
For the salad:
2-4 handfuls salad greens
100g feta cheese, diced
parsley or coriander to garnish
For the spicy dressing:
120ml olive oil
2-3 Tbsp tomato puree
3-4 Tbsp lime or lemon juice
½-1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp ground cumin
For the vegetables:
Preheat oven to 220degC. Heat a large roasting pan with a couple of tablespoons of oil.
Peel and chop the root vegetables into 2-3cm chunks. Put in water to prevent kumara and potato discolouring, but dry in a towel before roasting.
Place the harder vegetables in the hot oil in the hot pan. Sprinkle over the garlic and coriander, season with salt and pepper and toss to make sure they are all coated with the oil.
Put in the oven to roast for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring about halfway through cooking. Add the yams after about 15 minutes.
Put the softer vegetables in another heated pan with hot oil, toss and put in the oven about 15 minutes after the harder vegetables.
For the couscous:
Pour the boiling water or stock over the couscous in a bowl, cover and leave to absorb the water for 15-20 minutes. It will triple in size. Fluff with a fork before using.
To make the dressing:
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until amalgamated.
To assemble the salad:
Place washed and dried salad leaves around the edge of a large platter.
Spread the couscous in the centre and top with the cubes of cheese. Drizzle over a little of the dressing.
Top with the lukewarm or cool roasted vegetables and drizzle some more dressing over.
Serve the rest of the dressing in a jug so people can add more if they wish.
Sprinkle finely with chopped parsley or coriander.
- Thanks to Afife Harris and Speckled Hen Free Range Eggs of the Otago Farmers Market.
