This time of year, squashes and tubers (root vegetables) are what we start craving for comfort food. We at Season’s Eatings are a particular fan of the butternut squash as it such a versatile vegetable that it can be prepared in a variety of ways. In this recipe we’ve chosen to roast it with courgette and serve with our smoked mackerel couscous.

This couscous contains some strong flavours, which are needed to stand up to the bold flavour of the fish. If you’re not a fan of mackerel, you can leave this out and the couscous will still pack a punch of flavour.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• ½ butternut squash
• 1 courgette
• 100g couscous
• 2 fillets of smoked mackerel
• dried thyme
• handful of sultanas
• handful of toasted pine nuts
• handful of capers
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• Olive oil

Recipe:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC (or 180ºC with fan).
2. Prepare the butternut squash and courgette by rinsing and drying and then cutting into 1 inch cubes, keeping the skin on. We always find it best to tackle the squash with a large, sharp knife and a little patience.
3. Tip the courgette and squash into a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil then sprinkle over a couple of pinches of salt, a few twists of freshly ground pepper and 1.5 tsps dried thyme. The vegetables need 30 – 40 minutes to roast, being turned once half way through.
4. About 10 minutes before the vegetables area ready, it’s time to prepare the mackerel couscous. Tip the dry couscous into a bowl with the smoked paprika, ½ tsp dried thyme, capers, sultanas, toasted pine nuts a pinch of salt, a twist of pepper and 2 tsps of olive oil. To ‘cook’, simply pour over boiling water until it covers the couscous mixture by an additional centimetre, cover (with a plate or cling film) and leave for 10 minutes.
5. Tear the smoked mackerel into bit-sized flakes. When the couscous is ready, fork in the mackerel. It is important not to use any other implement otherwise the couscous will not fluff up.
6. Serve the couscous with the roasted veg, drizzle over a little more olive oil if required and enjoy.