This really is the ultimate vegetable feast, charred roasted veggies served with a creamy tahini sauce and a punchy preserved lemon and chilli chermoula. Don’t be put off by the number of ingredients, they are ninety percent everyday items. It’s super easy to throw together. You basically make the two sauces whilst the vegetables roast in the oven. Really you spend about 10 minutes making them. the remaining 30 minutes is good to go. The tahini sauce is very Lebanese, luscious tahini loosened with a little water and lemon juice. You can also add in crushed garlic. It’s called tarator sauce. The chermoula is a Moroccan condiment. I love it. For this version I have used preserved lemon and green chilli to add a different spin.
Method
- Pre heat the oven to 200 fan. Chuck the squash, peppers, courgettes and red peppers into a roasting tray. Add the olive oil and a good pinch of salt. Toss together and roast for 40-45 minutes until everything is tender and a little charred. Add the chickpeas and squeeze over the juice of half a lemon. Gently mix together and then transfer to a serving dish.
- Meanwhile, chuck all the ingredients for the chermoula into a food processor with a good pinch of salt and 3 tbsp of water. Blend into a pesto like consistency. Transfer to a serving bowl.
- Whisk the tahini with the remaining lemon, a pinch of salt and 5 tbsp of water. It will split and then come back together into a light-coloured, smooth sauce the consistency of thick cream. Drizzle a little over the vegetables and garnish with the parsley and pine nuts. Serve immediately with the chermoula and remaining tahini at the table.
Ingredients
Serves 4
400g peeled butternut squash, sliced into ¾ cm pieces
2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced
2 courgettes, sliced 2 cm thick rounds
1 large red onion, cut into little wedges
2 tbsp olive oil
1 x 400g tin of chickpea, drained
The juice of a lemon
100g tahini
A few finely chopped parsley leaves
10g toasted pine nuts
Sea salt
For the Chermoula
A bunch of coriander leaves and stalks
A bunch of parsley leaves
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
2 preserved lemon, deseeded
2 cloves garlic
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt
