Vegetarian Roasted Squash & Couscous Recipe
In celebration of the upcoming World Vegetarian Day – annually on October 1st – I created a vegetarian recipe that fully embraces the upcoming autumn vibes!
This vegetarian recipe with spicy roasted squash & fresh Greek yogurt sauce makes for a healthy & flavorful dinner.
Serves: 2 | Prep Time: 10 – 20 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins | Total: 40 – 50 mins
Cooking & Kitchen Supplies: medium cooking pot | bowl | oven dish | parchment paper
Ingredients
- small golden nugget squash (about 600g), or 400g diced squash
- 1 red onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 300g Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp tahini
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 150g couscous
- 200ml vegetable stock
- 0.5 – 1 tsp chili flakes
- 20g pine nuts
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt & black pepper to taste
- 1 small handful of fresh parsley
- 80g feta cheese (look for your local vegetarian options without the use of rennet)
I actually was a vegetarian for 3 years during my teens. Until my irritable bowel syndrome sadly got the best of me, and I couldn’t properly digest certain veggies anymore.
But, I’ve got to say, it’s nice to see how far we’ve come in the meantime in terms of vegetarian options in supermarkets & restaurants. Because boy, were they scarce back in the day! Not only are there plenty of options for meat substitutes now, but they’re also really tasty, if not sometimes even more so than the original in my opinion.
And although I have been eating meat again for quite some years, I do still try to limit my intake and eat vegetarian on a regular basis. And with the right recipes, you shouldn’t feel like you’re missing out at all.
How to prepare Vegetarian Roasted Squash & Couscous
- Preheat your oven to a hot 430°F or 220°C.
- If not already bought diced, cut the squash in slices of about 1.2″ or 3cm. Lay the slices on their sides, and cut away the skin of the squash. Proceed by cutting the squash in cubes of about 1.2″ or 3cm, while cutting around the seeds.
- Cut your red onions into quarters.
- Toss your squash cubes & red onion in a bowl with 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, ground black pepper & salt to taste, and chili flakes.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread your squash & red onion.
- Make a pouch out of tin foil and place your – unpeeled – garlic cloves inside. Pour a generous amount of olive oil over the garlic cloves. Close your tin foil pouch and place it onto the baking tray with the squash & onion.
- Bake your squash in the oven for a total of 30 minutes, and flip everything after 15 minutes for an evenly golden skin on your squash.
- Bring your vegetable stock to a boil in a cooking pan, with the lid on.
- Once the vegetable stock is boiling, remove it from the heat and add your couscous and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Stir well, then let it rest for 5 minutes with the lid on while it absorbs the vegetable stock.
- Mix your Greek yogurt with the tahini and lemon juice in a bowl.
- Once it’s been sitting for 5 minutes, fluff up your couscous with a fork.
- Toast your pine nuts in a frying pan for about 3 minutes, while making sure to not burn them.
- Cut your fresh parsley.
- Take your squash out of the oven and let it rest for a little bit.
- Remove the garlic from the tin foil and peel it. You can either stir the soft garlic into your couscous, or place the cloves on the plates as a garnish.
- Scoop the couscous into deep plates.
- Place the squash on top of the couscous and dress with some of the greek yoghurt sauce. Top off with the fresh parsley, toasted pine nuts & feta that you crumble over the dish. Put the leftover feta and yoghurt sauce on the table so that you can put on some more halfway through your meal, if needed.
- Serve & enjoy your veggie meal! 🙂
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