Couscous Bowl

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• 0.5 tsp cumin seeds
• 0.5 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 red onions
• 400 g Hokkaido pumpkin
• 1 red bell pepper
• 250 g Chickpeas (canned, drained weight)
• 300 g Couscous
• 3 tbsp cashews (15 g each)
• 2 tbsp dried cranberries (15 g each)
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 Pomegranate
• 100 g Arugula

Instructions

1. 1.

   Peel and finely chop the garlic. Coarsely crush the cumin seeds in a mortar, then combine with turmeric, olive oil, salt, pepper, and half of the garlic in a small bowl.

2. 2.

   Peel the onions, halve them, and cut into half‑rings. Clean the pumpkin, halve it, remove the seeds, wash, and cut the flesh into bite‑size pieces. Trim the bell pepper, wash, and cut into ~2 cm chunks. Drain the chickpeas in a sieve, rinse, and let dry. Spread everything on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drizzle with the prepared spice oil, mix well, then bake at 200 °C (180 °C fan‑forced; gas: level 3) for about 20 minutes.

3. 3.

   Meanwhile, combine couscous, cashews, cranberries, and ½ tsp salt in a bowl, pour over 600 ml boiling water. Cover with a plate, set aside, and let sit for 15 minutes to absorb the liquid.

4. 4.

   In the meantime, blend tahini with ~50 ml water, the remaining garlic, maple syrup, lemon juice, salt, and pepper using an immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Add more water if needed to reach desired consistency.

5. 5.

   Separate pomegranate seeds from the fruit by cutting a wedge at the stem end, then holding the fruit over a bowl and gently breaking it apart; most seeds will fall out. Remove any white membranes. Rinse and dry the arugula. Fluff the couscous with a fork, divide among bowls, top with roasted vegetables, arrange arugula beside, sprinkle pomegranate seeds, and drizzle with tahini dressing.