This beet, spinach and goat’s cheese couscous makes a very colourful snack –and we do eat with our eyes too so the colour really adds to it. We often eat this at home with a salad, as a starter. It is light and healthy.

Couscous is very easy to cook. It can be very tasty but you need to add flavour and texture to it. There are two types that you will find easily. The first is the regular couscous that you can just pour boiling water over. I always like to toast it a little on a dry pan for two or three minutes before adding the water. It gives it a nice nutty flavour. Then there is the large-grain Isralei couscous, which needs more cooking and must be boiled.

There are lots of nice Irish goat’s cheeses now that do not taste too strong. Or, if you like, you could use feta cheese.

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The pumpkin and ginger teabread is unusual and interesting. Who would have thought

of putting pumpkin in bread? It is in season now and well worth trying. This is a simple recipe that children enjoy making.

I love the taste of ginger in cakes and the demerara sugar gives a nice crunch to the crust.

Happy cooking!

THIS WEEK’S RECIPE

BEET, SPINACH & GOAT’S CHEESE COUSCOUS

Makes two lunches

Zest and juice of one large orange

140g couscous

25g walnut pieces

85g firm goat’s cheese, crumbled

6 dried apricots, roughly chopped

4 small cooked beetroots, quartered

2 handfuls of spinach leaves

FOR THE DRESSING

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

1 Put the orange zest, juice and 100ml water in a small pan and bring to the boil. Place the couscous in a medium bowl and pour the hot liquid over. Mix well, then cover and leave to absorb for five minutes. Fluff the grains with a fork, add the walnuts, cheese, apricots, beetroot and seasoning.

2 Mix the oil and lemon juice (or use your favourite shop-bought vinaigrette). Pack in two sealed containers, with the spinach sitting on top. It won’t go soggy when layered up this way. When ready to eat, toss the spinach through.

PUMPKIN & GINGER TEABREAD

Cuts into 10 slices

175g butter, melted

140g clear honey

1 large egg, beaten

250g raw peeled pumpkin, or butternut

squash, coarsely grated (about 500g/1lb

before peeling and seeding)

100g light muscovado sugar

350g self-raising flour

1 tbsp ground ginger

2 tbsp demerara sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 180ºC/fan 160ºC/gas mark 4.

2 Butter and line the base and two long sides of a 1.5kg loaf tin with a strip of baking paper.

3 Mix the butter, honey and egg and stir in the pumpkin or squash. Then mix in the sugar, flour and ginger.

4 Pour into the prepared tin and sprinkle the top with the demerara sugar. Bake for about one hour until risen and golden brown. Leave in the tin for five minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack. Serve thickly sliced and buttered