Out of Africa

BY JUDITH SUTTON

There is wonderful range of vegetables available right now, bursting with summer goodness, and ready for this Moroccan salad.

Serve as a side salad with barbecued food or as a warming spicy vegetarian dish on cooler days.

Any leftovers will be good for a packed lunch

Make the aromatic spice mix yourself, by grinding the whole spices in a spice grinder (use a clean electric coffee grinder). Or, if time is an issue, use powdered spices for convenience. Store any extra mix in a screw-top jar.

Moroccan roasted vegetable and chickpea salad

Spice mix:

1 large or 2 small whole cloves or a good pinch ground cloves

2 tsp cumin seeds or powdered cumin

1 tsp whole coriander seed or powdered coriander

1 small dried red chilli or 1/2 tsp chilli powder, or to taste

2 whole allspice seeds or a good pinch ground allspice

1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp hing

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Good pinch each of ground ginger, paprika, cayenne, nutmeg, black pepper and sugar

Combine together the whole spices then grind in a spice/coffee grinder until a fine powder. Mix in a bowl with the remaining powdered spices

Salad:

250g each carrots, kumara, pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks

4 tsp Moroccan spice mix

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 Tbsp olive oil

300g each coloured peppers, courgettes, and eggplant, cut into chunks

1 x 400g can or 1 cup cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup stoned prunes, sliced

Handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Vinaigrette:

2 Tbsp each lemon juice and olive oil; pinch each salt, hing, brown sugar and black pepper

Preheat oven to 220deg C. Place carrots, kumara and pumpkin onto oven tray, sprinkle over Moroccan spice mix, salt and oil and mix thoroughly to evenly coat vegetables. Roast for 10 minutes then add remaining vegetables, tossing to evenly mix with oil and spices and return to oven to cook for further eight to 12 minutes.

Vegetables should be only just tender. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Whisk together vinaigrette ingredients until salt and sugar dissolve. Add vinaigrette to salad and toss carefully. Store covered in fridge.

- © Fairfax NZ News