“This is every cook’s opinion –
no savory dish without an onion,
but lest your kissing should be spoiled
your onions must be fully boiled.”
Jonathan Swift

First off…thank you so much to everyone who follows this blog or likes any of the posts. On Wednesday I reached 51 follows! So, thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Also, a huge shout out to the 178 followers on FB – ye rock, too! Now, on to this week’s recipe:

Generally, the week before I go on vacation I don’t really eat at home. Instead, I will get fried chicken, gimbap, or a sandwich from Paris Baguette. I always figured it made life easier. Well, I go on vacation on Monday for around 10 days and I decided that I would challenge myself to not be lazy and to try to eat in for most of the time during this week. The weekend is a mix of birthdays and farewells so I knew getting time to eat in would be tricky and I also don’t want to have food I need to throw away. I’m happy to report that eating (mostly) at home was really rewarding AND I actually got a lot more done than just packing!

One of my goals for 2015 is to waste less food. This is sometimes hard in Korea as nearly everything is bought in bulk. Buying a single carrot is looked at with askance which means sometimes whatever you buy will spoil before you get to the end of the bag. I also wanted whatever I made to be simple, with minimal amount of dishes to clean up and some leftovers for the next day’s lunch. With this in mind, I looked around my kitchen and threw together some vegetables I had on hand. I was a bit hesitant about sharing this recipe, but I love simple food that I don’t need to put much thought into. It’s even better if I can throw it in the oven and only have to check it a few times to turn and make sure it doesn’t burn (all the better for packing!).

This meal was so scrumptious I ate the same thing for four days! It’s healthy, colourful, and left me craving more. I actually had made enough for my dinner and lunch but, um, I ate most of it in one go. The goguma (sweet potato) and red cabbage brought a lovely sweetness to the dish that goes really well with the rest of the ingredients, especially the onions. Paired with a fried egg and some couscous, it’s a simple but, in my opinion, perfect marriage of healthy and hearthy.

Roasted Vegetables with Pesto Couscous and Fried Eggs

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

Roasted Vegetables

2 small sweet potatoes (goguma/, cut into chunks
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, sliced into thin rounds
1 bell pepper (yellow or orange), chopped
1½ cups red cabbage, chopped
2-4 whole garlic cloves, peeled or unpeeled (optional)*
3-4 button mushrooms, quartered (optional)
2.5 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper for seasoning

Couscous

½ cup couscous
½ cup boiling water
olive oil, for drizzling
2-3 tsp green pesto
¼-½ cup feta cheese
1 avocado, chopped

Fried Egg

2 eggs
2 tsp olive oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 190°C.
Put everything from the sweet potato to the mushrooms into your roasting tin.
Mix in the oil until all the vegetables are well coated.
Add some seasoning, pop it in the oven for around 50 minutes. Check every 15 minutes and turn the vegetables as needed. Once the carrots are tender and everything is lightly browned, it’s ready.
In the meantime, around 15 minutes before the vegetables are ready, boil a kettle of water.
Put the couscous in a heatproof bowl. Drizzle around some olive oil into the couscous just before adding the boiling water.
Cover the couscous and set aside to swell, around 10 minutes. Once ready, fluff with a fork, mix in the pesto and add the feta and avocado.
Around 10 minutes before the vegetables will be ready, set a frying pan on the stove over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil and heat for around 15-20 seconds. Add the eggs and fry. (I like mine over easy, but you can fry as you like.)
Serve with the couscous and vegetables.

*I like to add unpeeled garlic cloves when I am roasting vegetables as I love the taste of roasted garlic, but I’ve found in Korea a lot of times under the garlic skin the garlic tends to be bad. So I peel them here, but you should try it with unpeeled garlic.

Tips

Make it your own: If bringing for lunch, why not leave out the fried egg or substitute an egg muffin?

Vegan option: Leave out the egg and feta, and substitute a vegan pesto.

Reducing dishes: Use a plate to cover the heatproof bowl for the couscous. That plate can then be used for your dinner. If you are eating with someone, the heatproof bowl can be their dish.

For better roasting: After washing the vegetables, pat them dry in a clean tea towel. Then transfer them to your roasting dish and add the oil.