Apricot chickpea couscous

Foodie excerpt - Chapter 10. The past is never as far as it seems.

As they entered the small house, Aine took off her cloak, dusting it off slightly and hanging it on a hook, revealing a sleek pilot’s outfit that she very clearly hadn’t acquired on Jakku.

“Come in, make yourself comfortable,” Aine said, inviting Kai to sit on one of the three stools set by a round table. “I’ll get the stove on.”

The walls of the house were thick and made from some type of clay the colour of the sand. They were doing a good job of keeping the place cool enough considering the severe heat outside. The small home was made up of a living area with a kitchen and a private room in the back, and was most notably overflowing with trinkets of all sorts. Kai had no idea what most of them were, although some pieces she recognised as accessories of the same type as Aine’s bracelets. Seeing her host busy in the kitchen, Kai approached to offer her help. She was handed a cutting board, knife and a few vegetables she was instructed to peal and chop.

“Admiring my collection, were you?” Aine asked as Kai sat down at the table to start her work.

“It’s quite something,” Kai had to admit, although she wondered why anyone would spend time and credits on anything that wasn’t at all useful.

“I can’t really seem to help myself. If it’s shiny and colourful, I just have to have it. Wandering around looking for treasures is what got me to Jakku, and a number of places before that, and most likely a many places more. It’s the mystery, the secrets, that call to me, and believe it or not mysterious things are almost always shiny and colourful.”

Kai couldn’t help smile at the comment and thought that Aine probably wouldn't think much of the Midsummer Comet in terms of a treasure, even though Kai had no greater one.

“Every piece you see here has a story,” Aine continued as she prepared a bowl of mixed spices. “Some were owned by eccentric and powerful beings, others are powerful themselves, although I won’t go on and tell you which ones.”

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Apricot chickpea couscous

Serves 2

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Note: If using uncooked chickpeas, soak the chickpeas overnight and plan 45 minutes - 1 hour to cook. See Green hummus recipe for cooking instructions.

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 1 carrot

• 1 parsnip

• 1 medium sweet potato

• 4 dried apricots

• 1 onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 tsp coriander

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• 1/4 tsp ras el hanout

• 250 g tomato purée

• 1 tsp vegetable broth

• 240 g cooked chickpeas

• 1/2 lemon

• Fresh parsley
  

Couscous

• 150 g dry whole wheat couscous

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 360 ml water
  

Instructions

Chop the carrot, parsnip, and sweet potato into cubes and set aside. Cut the dried apricots in half and set aside.

Dice the onions and mince the garlic. In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the chopped vegetables to the pot. Stir in the spices and mix well. Add the dried apricots, tomato purée, water, and vegetable broth and cook for 10 minutes on medium-high heat, mixing regularly. Reduce to medium heat, cover, and let simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

While the vegetables cook, make the couscous. In a medium bowl, add the dry couscous, salt and olive oil. Boil the water and pour it in the bowl over the dry couscous. Cover for 10 minutes. Once ready, use a fork to fluff the couscous and break up any clumps.

Uncover the vegetable pot. Add the chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and fresh parsley. Serve over couscous.