ROAST VEGETABLES WITH MIDDLE EASTERN FLAVOURS

This vegetable dish takes very little preparation, cooks very quickly and goes well with any meat or poultry but do try to serve them with the Roasted Rack of Lamb with similar flavours.

 It can easily be changed into an Italian version with a splash of white wine and 2-3 anchovies tucked here and there, a couple of fresh ripe tomatoes cut into chunks and a sprinkle of freshly chopped parsley.  If you love herbs, add a few sprigs of thyme or rosemary and chunks of lemon.  As for vegetables, add as little or as much as you like, just keep them to a similar size for even cooking.

If you happen to have leftover vegetables, add them to the cooked cous-cous and you have a totally new dish for your next day dinner.

You need for 8 people:

2 red capsicums cut into 1cm strips

1 yellow capsicum cut into 1cm strips

200 gr of brown mushrooms roughly cut

1 medium size red onion sliced into wedges

1 head of garlic, cloves peeled and lightly squashed with a lat knife

1 small eggplant

1/4 pumpkin cut into 3 cm chunks

2 vne ripe tomatoes cut into quarters

2 ts of smoked paprika

2 ts of sumac

1/2 ts of harissa paste
1/2 of  pomegranate

Freshly chopped coriander leaves

Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 C. I once watched Nigella Lawson preparing vegetables for the roasting.  What she did what she put all the ingredients together into the plastic bag and gave them a good mix.  And that's exactly what I do now, as the result all the vegetables are coated evenly in oil and spices and it is much easier to mix them while they are in a bag rather then on the oven tray.

And so, place all the chopped vegetables in a big plastic bowl olive oil, spices, salt and pepper and give it a good toss so all the vegetables get covered, then spread on a roasting tray and place in the oven.  Check after 10 minutes and add a splash of water to keep the vegetables moist.  Roast for about 15-20 minutes and give it a taste.  Once the vegetables are cooked, transfer them onto a plate and sprinkle over with freshly chopped coriander and pomegranate pips.
Enjoy!!!