Courgette Couscous

We brought the monster courgette home yesterday and turned it into a light and lovely veggie supper - well, half of it anyway. I still don't know how it got so fat so fast.

I think we caught it just before 'too big' - it still tasted delish and wasn't too watery or seedy.

The recipe is a variation on a Jamie Oliver favourite, adapted to make the vegetables the stars, and was just perfect eaten al fresco on a hot summer evening.

Lemon Courgette Couscous with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes
(serves two)

• Cut four tomatoes in half, season, sprinkle with mixed herbs, poke a couple of slices of garlic into each piece and drizzle with oil. Place in the oven to slow roast at about 120C for about an hour and a half (or longer, really, but hey - I was getting hungry!).
• Cut a red onion or two into wedges, toss in oil, and place them in the oven too for the last 45 mins or so of roasting.
• Dice the courgette and fry in a little oil, with a generous glug of lemon juice and some seasoning, for about 5 mins or until softening round the edges but still al dente.
• Off the heat, add 100g of couscous to the courgettes, along with enough boiling water to cover, a knob of butter, and another generous glug of lemon juice. Stir, cover, and let the couscous do its thing. (I take a rather relaxed approach to couscous and just keep adding water if I want it wetter, or pop it back on a low heat if I want it dryer.)
• When couscous is ready, fluff up with a fork and serve with the tomatoes and onions on top.