Lemon Tahini Roasted Vegetable Couscous

Ingredients & Substitutions

This is what you need:

• Zucchini should be smooth, medium to dark green in color and feel firm with no soft spots.
• Yellow squash: Part of the same family of vegetables as zucchini, yellow squash is its cousin just with a slightly different shape. Again, the freshest ones will be smooth and firm.
• Peppers: You can use any color bell peppers. My preferences are yellow, orange or red bell peppers for their sweet flavor and crisp bite.
• Couscous: With all these veggies, I like using pearl couscous, also known as Israeli couscous. It has plump round grains unlike Moroccan couscous with its teeny tiny grains that you have to fluff with a fork. If you can’t find pearl couscous, you can use orzo, barley or rice instead. Just follow the instructions on the package to cook it.
• Tahini is made from ground sesame seeds, oil and salt. This seed butter is vegan.
• Lemon juice adds a nice acidity to the flavor of the roasted vegetables.
• Garlic: There is a minced garlic clove in the lemon tahini dressing, but overall it is subtle in the taste of the final dish.
• Scallions add light green onion flavor.
• Parsley: For chopped fresh herbs, you can also use cilantro, chives or a combination.
• Olive oil makes an appearance in every component of the recipe including the roasted veggies, the dressing and the couscous. Use good quality extra-virgin olive oil.
• Salt & pepper: Both the vegetables and the dressing are seasoned with kosher salt and black pepper.

How To Make Roasted Vegetable Couscous

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss the zucchini, squash and peppers with olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet. Make sure to spread them out in a single layer.

Roast the vegetables until they are lightly browned, about 25-30 minutes.

Make the dressing while the veggies are in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, tahini, garlic, salt and pepper.

Make the couscous. Toast the grains with a little olive oil in a saucepan on the stove. Add the water, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the couscous is cooked and tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the couscous to a large bowl. Stir the dressing into the couscous.

Add the roasted veggies, scallions and parsley to the couscous. Stir to combine everything.

Variations

The formula of this recipe is pretty basic. And the lemon tahini dressing can go with way more than just zucchini, summer squash and peppers. I encourage you to switch up the veggies depending on the season. Other summer vegetables to roast include tomatoes. For fall and winter, try butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, broccoli or cauliflower.

The only trick is to consider the cook times for the vegetables. Since they are all on the same sheet pan, you may need to start one in the oven earlier and then add to the baking sheet if one has a longer cook time than another.