Real Tomatoes

Real tomatoes. You know, the kind that smell like the garden, that are "red like a painters palette, with variations of deep garnet to almost orange"* with yellow and green edging in at the top, and have natural contortions from the way they grew on the vine and the surges of energy they got from the gardners fertilising and autumn rain falling, and taste like rapture.

I found some at the markets, I couldn't stop smelling them. They smell so nice! Like they have come from my own garden with hints of dirt and water.

I decided to make a Morrocan dish tonight with the tomatoes as the centrepiece and pedestal of the meal.

Red Roast of Morroco

Ingredients:

Four fresh truss tomatoes stalks on.
1/2 Butternut pumpkin
1 red capsicum
1 zucchini
1 eggplant
handful of green beans
can of garbanzo beans
1 carrot
2 cloves garlic

couscous

brown rice

Parsley

Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

Morrocan seasoning spices:
1 Lemons Juice
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Coriander seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
Saffron threads &/or 1/2 tsp Saffron powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp Roasted Chilli (I use Kashmiri Chillies dried and roasted from Indian grocery nearby)
1 tsp sweet paprika.

Method:
1. Roast four truss tomatoes in 180C oven until skin splits and they start to caramelise
2. Put brown rice on to cook
3. Boil exact amount of water for appropriate amount of couscous (depends on how many people are eating - see packet for details) and add couscous and spices, bring back to boil. Cover and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, slice capsicum, zucchini and eggplant and grill in top of oven (hopefully your oven can grill whilst baking).
5. Slice pumpkin thinly (5mm thick) in largeish pieces
6. Microwave beans with some hot water and pumpkin on top for 3-4mins
7. Cut beans in 5cm lengths and add to couscous pot.
8. Take pumpkin (should be cooked but still firm, not falling apart) and grill or put in sandwich maker to toast/make crispy. (Alternative: BBQ all vegies)
9. Add two roasted tomatoes to couscous and squash and stir into mixture.
10. Add rice and drained garbanzo beans to mixture and salt and pepper. Warm through.
11. Serve in bowls with roasted vegetables layered on top with the Tomato and parsley to garnish.


* Tomato description from an inpiring cooking book by Erica Bauermiester "The Essential Ingredients".