Couscous is the staple food of much of North Africa, where it is often served topped with tender, colourful vegetables, drenched in delicious gravy and spiced with a traditional hot chilli sauce called harissa.
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Ciabatta with garlic mushrooms
Garlic mushrooms make a delightful starter, but classic recipes tend to use generous quantities of butter. This version, pepped up with mustard, is deliciously buttery without being over–indulgent. A simple salad of finely shredded white [...]
Rotolo of ricotta and spinach
This is an attractive recipe to serve as a main dish, and it is equally good served as a first course, when it will provide 8 portions. Serve a fresh, crisp green salad as an accompaniment, taking advantage of the wide range of leaves and green [...]
Rigatoni with garlicky sausage
Eggplant can contribute succulent texture to pasta sauces. Here, the eggplant provides the perfect complement to tasty sausage and olives, simmered with canned cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs. Tossed with pasta, the result is a speedy, [...]
Radiatori with white beans in tomato dressing
When beans and pasta are eaten together, the vegetable proteins combine to provide as good a source of protein as meat. Here, tender cannellini beans partner chunky pasta in a salad with celery, capsicum and artichokes. A well–flavoured [...]
Pork pot-stickers with spicy peanut salad
These fragrant Chinese–style pasta purses are made with wonton wrappers, available from Asian supermarkets. They are part fried, then simmered in stock and served on a bed of green leaves with a salad of crunchy vegetables, peanuts and [...]
Piquant pasta and tuna salad
The dressing for this colourful salad has a sweet sour flavour, which perfectly complements the lightly cooked zucchini, tuna, tomatoes and al dente pasta. Serve the salad cool, but not chilled, or try it while it is still warm. Mini pita bread [...]
Penne rigati with sesame and orange dressing
This fresh–flavoured pasta salad is ideal as a side dish with grilled chicken or firm fish, such as fresh tuna or swordfish. It makes a healthy change from pasta dressed with oil or butter and parmesan cheese.
Pasta with roasted vegetables
Oven–roasted vegetables, tender and scented with garlic, make a chunky dressing that is great with long, wide pasta. A sprinkling of crunchy sunflower seeds adds texture as well as additional nutritional benefits.
Pasta with potato, beans and pesto
This is a traditional Ligurian dish that is usually made with potatoes, green beans and baby broad beans. Here, broccoli and zucchini boost the green vegetable content. The pesto used to dress the pasta and vegetables is lighter than most, but [...]
Rustic grilled vegetable and rigatoni salad
Mixed grilled vegetables, such as capsicum, tomato and eggplant, are delicious with chunky pasta in a tangy dressing. Serve this salad as a light lunch or offer it as an accompaniment for grilled poultry or meat, when it will serve 6 or 8.
Saffron couscous
Serve this salad warm or cool as a main dish for 4, or as a main course accompaniment for 6. Either way, it is a flavoursome low–fat vegetarian dish that has real meal appeal. Saffron, which brings the taste and colour of the Middle East [...]
Soufflé-topped pasta bake
A topping lightened with whisked eggwhites and finished with a sprinkling of parmesan can make a simple pasta and vegetable bake very special. You can use a wide variety of vegetables with the pasta in this easy version of a soufflé. Serve with [...]
Bacon and mushroom kebabs
In this dish, three favourite breakfast ingredients – bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes – are cooked on skewers with new potatoes and yellow squash. The kebabs are served on toasted ciabatta with a refreshing citrus salad. Enjoy them for [...]
Asparagus and pea vichyssoise
Based on the classic leek and potato soup, this version has asparagus and sugar snap peas added, and it is enriched with yogurt rather than cream for a lighter, lower–fat result. Traditionally served chilled, the soup can also be served [...]
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