Tomato & couscous soup - BBC Good Food

Well this was much more of a stew than a soup! It wasa thick and warming and a strange combination of summer-y flavours and winter-y textures. A good soup, then, for spring or autumn! It was tasty although the curry and tomato overpower the rest (I did not use harissa, as I don't like hot food). The bread wasn't really necessary to mop anything up; I would use more stock if you want to make it into a proper soup.

Here is the recipe:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/527628/spiced-tomato-and-couscous-soup-

There's lots of room for variation; a couple of comments suggested leeks instead of celery, you could use different spices instead of harissa (I used a Moroccan spice rub by Schwartz), you can add a dollop of yoghurt or creme fraiche... experiment!

Oh, and if you leave it overnight it will suck up all the moisture. This actually makes it quite a good thing to take to work for lunch.

Disruption and salad days

It's May. I dislike May because that's when I have my yearly medication for arthritis that knocks me out. I don't do an awful lot of cooking in May, but I have saved a couple of bits from the previous month. Also on top of that June/July will most likely be moving house month (our first house!) which will involve lots of upheaval and decorating, not to mention I'll be using a gas cooker for the first time.

So really that's a long way of saying that I won't be posting much this summer!

Here's something in the meantime - my favourite side salad, which I like to serve in huge amounts next to a small main portion. Here it is next to a red pepper and cheese omelette. The amounts listed make 2 times this amount and a bit extra.


Mega side salad!

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side


Half a cucumber

3 large tomatoes

100g sweetcorn

Black olives - I usually make sure I at least have 8 olives per person

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs of your preference - I have used chives and dill so far, and thyme and lemon thyme will also work well

1 tbsp olive oil, preferably flavoured like basil

2 tsp Balsamic vinegar


* Chop it all up to desired size and mix it all up in a bowl!