How to make harissa carrots with crispy cumin chickpeas and pearl couscous

Veganuary is here, so get inspired by Julia Platt Leonard’s bright and punchy dish

Make vegetables dinner-time stars with the right spices (Photography by Julia Platt Leonard)

Last January, about a quarter of a million people took part in Veganuary and made the pledge to go vegan for the month.

I’ll bet you a lifetime’s supply of tofu that the figure is a whole lot higher this year, because 2020 is set to be the year of the vegan.

Bookstores are stacked high with new vegan cookbooks and grocery stores can’t introduce vegan products fast enough (vegan parmesan anyone?)

The climate crisis and ethical eating are fuelling the rise, but so is a growing realisation that plants taste good. Scratch that – great.

They don’t need to be stuck on the side but should be the star. And relative to meat, they’re inexpensive.

Need inspiration? Rukmini Iyer’s The Green Roasting Tin Dinners: Vegan and Vegetarian One Dish Dinners and Katy Beskow’s Five Ingredient Vegan are excellent places to start.

How to make harissa carrots with crispy cumin chickpeas and pearl couscous

Serves 4

200g whole wheat pearl couscous
Zest of one lemon
400g carrots, peeled and sliced 
1tbsp harissa
½tsp cumin seeds
1 400g tin chickpeas, drained and dried
2½tbsp olive oil
20g coriander, chopped
Salt and pepper

Cook the couscous according to the package instructions. Combine with the lemon zest and salt and pepper and set aside.

Boil the carrots in salted water until just cooked through – depending on the size of your carrots, about 7-10 minutes. Drain and toss with the harissa, thinned with half a tablespoon of olive oil.

Heat a frying pan, add the last two tablespoons of oil. Add the chickpeas and cumin seeds. The chickpeas and oil will sputter so be extra careful or use a splatter screen. Drain on kitchen roll and sprinkle with salt.

To serve, top the couscous with the carrots, chickpeas and coriander and serve hot or at room temperature.

@juliapleonard