Parental brag first. So and Heir rode over 10km today in two separate stetches. LIttle champ. I bet he sleeps well tonight. The way home was harder than the way there but he made it!

Now that’s out of the way, let’s move on to food shall we? You may not be surprised to hear that we had a warm salad. Or that it was inspired by Jane Lawson’s ‘Tossed’. I’m somewhat predictable lately.

Moroccan eggplant, fennel and couscous salad
1 fennel bulb
1 cup instant couscous
1 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 red onion, sliced
1 eggplant
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 tablespoons butter
2 large handfuls parsley, chopped
zest and juice 1 lemon
2 tablespoons capers, drained

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees
2. Cut top and bottom of fennel bulb and slice into thin wedges. Arrange in baking dish, drizzle with a little of the olive oil and roast for 45 minutes.
3. Place couscous in large heatproof bowl. Bring stock to boil and pour over couscous. Cover and leave for 10 minutes and then fluff with fork.
4. Slice eggplant into 1 cm thick slices and quarter each slice.
5. Mix salt, garlic and spices together and toss through eggplant.
6. Put 1 tablespoon of oil in frypan. Heat and gently fry onion for a few minutes and then remove and set aside.
7. Place the rest of the oil in the frypan and cook eggplant over medium heat for 10 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
8. Melt butter in same frypan and toss couscous through. Add fennel and toss through for 1 minute. Add eggplant and toss for one minute. Add onion, spices, lemon zest and juice, parsley and capers and toss for one more minute.
9. Serve with Turkish bread.