Day 239: tender golden veg

We all have those days when it all gets a bit too much (and to top it off I dropped the jar of saffron as I tripped over one of the children sprawled out on the kitchen floor having a paddy), but this gorgeously golden, softly-spiced pot of tender vegetables - imbued with the sour tang of preserved lemons, the salty earthiness of olives, the sweetness of soft dried apricots and the sweet floral fragrance of saffron - was all the therapy I needed last night to pull myself back together (and to convince myself that it was perfectly OK to pluck each strand of saffron off the floor and put it back in the jar for later use). Day 239 is Nigella’s Moroccan Vegetable Pot and Couscous with Pine Nuts and Dill.

It was in How To Eat, I think, I read of putting a bowl of chopped herbs, when children are involved, on the table for them to sprinkle over their plates themselves. This is a class piece of advice! Mine were just starting to retaliate a little when I served their dinner to them already adorned with greenery (or grass as my eldest calls it), but now they insist upon doing it themselves, and I couldn’t be happier about it!

I don’t really like to dedicate any time to talkb about what I don’t like - that doesn’t help anyone - but I do just want to say that I, too, am a convert to wholemeal couscous; I have never liked the regular couscous, but have taken quite a shine to this one!

Nigella’s Moroccan Vegetable Pot and Couscous with Pine Nuts and Dill

The recipe for Nigella’s Moroccan Vegetable Pot and Couscous with Pine Nuts and Dill can be found on pp80-83 of At My Table and on nigella.com (link below).