Moroccan lentils and sweet-potato shepherd's pie

Found this recipe in Tiffany Hall's Weight-loss warrior book. Its quite different (and more interesting I think) from the traditional Shepherds pie most would be familiar with.

serves 4

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 teaspoons harissa (I just added some chili flakes as I didn't have harissa)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
250g (1 cup) French-style green lentils
750ml (3 cups) vegie stock
125ml (1/2 cup) tomato puree (or try a few tablespoons of tomato paste with a bit of water)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves (or try some fresh parsley)
600g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

1. Heat oil in medium sized saucepan over a medium-high heat and saute the onion for 3-4 minutes.

2. Add the garlic, harissa, coriander and cumin, and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, stirring often.

3. Add the lentils, stock and tomato puree, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are cooked and the sauce is reduced.
Season to taste and stir through the coriander leaves at the end.

4. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

5.To prepare topping, simmer the sweet potatoes in a saucepan of water until tender, for about 10 min. Drain and mash then season with salt and pepper.

6. Pour the lentil mixture into a 2-litre deep baking dish. Cover with the mashed sweet potato and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until crispy and golden brown on top.

Couscous Aromatique

I love this recipe because of the special way you steam the coucous over the vegetables which influes the coucous with lots of flavour! Also its one of those recipies where you dont have to dice the vegetables up finaly because they are steamed for a long time. Very delicious way to eat lots of vegetables with a Moroccan twist :) It is from the book "Vegetarian Cooking: A complete guide to ingredients and techniques, with over 300 delicious steb-by-step recipes" by Roz Denny and Christine Ingram.

Serves four to six

450g/1lb couscous grains

60ml/ 4 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, cut in chunks

2 carrots, cut in thick slices

4 baby turnips, halved

8 small new potatoes, halved

1 green pepper, cut in chunks

115g/4oz green beans, halved

1 small fennel bulb, sliced thickly ( i have never actually used the fennel bulbs it tastes fine without it but not sure how much of a difference it makes)

2.5cm/1in cube fresh root ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5ml/1 tsp ground tumeric

15ml/1 tbsp ground coriander

5ml/1 tsp cumin seeds

5 ml/1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

45ml/3 tbsp red lentils

1x400g/14oz can chopped tomatoes

1 litre/ 13/4 pints/4 1/2 cups stock

60ml/4 tbsp raisins

salt and ground black pepper

rind and juice of 1 lemon

harissa paste, to serve (optional)

 1. Cover the couscous with cold water and soak for 10 minutes. Draina nd spread out on a tray for 20 minutes, stirring it occasionally with your fingers.

2. Meanwhile, in a large suacepan, heat the oil and fry the vegetabes for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

3. Add the grated ginger, garlic and spices, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the lentils, tomatoes, stock and raisins, and add seasoning.

4. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. By this time, the couscous should be ready for steaming. Place in a steamer and fit this on top of the stew.

5. Cover and steam gently for about 20 minutes. The grains should be swollen and soft. Fork through and season well. Spoon into a serving dish.

6. Add the lemon rind and juice to the stew and chekc the seasoing. If liked add harissa paste to taste - but its quite hot. Spoon the couscous onto a plate and ladle the stew on top.