Pearl couscous is one of those ingredients I don’t cook with anywhere near enough, so when I was trying to come up with a salad as part of lunch for Mother’s Day I knew it was time to pull it out of the pantry again. It’s such a great base for a salad, and holds up well for leftovers too (if it lasts that long!).
Curries have long been a favourite of mine, they featured regularly on the menu at home when I was growing up, and they were one of the first things I learnt to cook for myself (albeit leaning rather heavily on a jar of curry paste!). When I first went vegetarian I relied on curries and stir-fries a lot, and whilst I might be a little more adventurous with my cooking these days I still love a good curry on a cold, grey Melbourne night.
I’m pretty happy that it’s autumn and therefore pumpkin season here in Australia as it’s up there as one of my favourite vegetables. It’s not only delicious but it’s amazingly versatile. I use it in everything – salads, burgers, curries, soup and now a risotto! I go through phases with risotto, I either make it a lot or go months without cooking it at all but I think it’s safe to say I’m back in a risotto phase right now!
I’ve seen risoni recipes popping up a bit lately and realised it was something I had never actually cooked with myself so decided it was time to get my hands on some and give it a go! I was pleasantly surprised, being pasta it was quick and easy to prepare and it also is a great base for a whole range of flavours as a standalone lunch or a great side dish with dinner. I have a feeling risoni will be a more regular feature in my kitchen from now on!
Melbourne has embraced December as only Melbourne can – with a mixture of super warm days and then some well, not so summery days. I took advantage of one of the cooler days to turn on the oven and whip up this salad, which I then proceeded to eat for dinner for the next few warm days when cooking something warm was the furthest from what I wanted to be doing!