So I am reminded of a bright autumn day in Cambridge. Warmth radiating from a blue sky - the eternal chill of winter in the UK yet to set in. I am dining at a gorgeous little restaurant, with some gorgeously dreamy little humans. I do not remember the name of the dish I ordered, or anything but the vaguest of ingredients... But what I do remember was my dismay at the almost absolute lack of apricot, in a dish which claimed to be apricotty. From this memory came what follows: My Moroccan style apricotty dish. It turned out great, you should try it some time.
Ingredients:
Method:
Peel and dice the onions. Cook them in a frying pan with a little olive oil until they begin to caramelise. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes. Steam them lightly while the onions cook, then put them aside. Dice the tomato and add it to the caramelised onions along with a sprinkle of garam masala (or if you have none - a few cardamom seeds), and a splash of red wine. Slice the apricots and add them to the frypan, along with 1/4 cup of stock. Simmer.
Now for the couscous. Bring the remaining stock to the boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and add couscous. In a few minutes the couscous should have absorbed all of the liquid and be cooked. (If couscous seems a little dry, add a small amount of additional water. If couscous seems too moist return saucepan back to the stove and heat slightly, cautious of burning.) Work a small quantity of olive oil through the cooked couscous in order to separate the grains for less of a lumpy appearance.
Add sweet potato to the frying pan, stir and simmer at a low heat for a few minutes. Add some additional garam masala to flavour.
Serve placing the sweet potato on a bed of couscous. Garnish with almond slivers.
Now sit down! Pour some red wine. And enjoy!
* Personally I always use Massel stock cubes, with the whole range being free from animal products.