Metric avoids regional spoon ambiguity. US uses 5 mL tsp, 15 mL tbsp and 240 mL cup. Small masses stay in grams unless a verified recipe conversion exists. More on measurements
40 ml extra-virgin olive oil (36 g)
1 small brown onion, finely sliced (100 g)
2 garlic cloves, sliced (10 g)
1 g dried oregano
300 g zucchini, halved lengthways and sliced
60 ml water for the braise, plus 130 ml boiling water for the couscous (190 g in total)
200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
90 g wholemeal couscous (dry)
15 ml lemon juice (15 g)
120 g feta, crumbled (two-thirds of a 180 g pack)
8 g fresh basil leaves, torn
Ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Warm the oil in a wide pan and cook the onion over medium-low heat for 6 minutes, then add the garlic and oregano for 1 minute more.
Add the zucchini and 60 ml of the water, cover and cook over low heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it slumps and crushes easily under the spoon. This is a braise, not a fry: browning here means it is drying out.
Add the tomatoes and cook uncovered 6-8 minutes, until they burst and their juice thickens around the zucchini.
Meanwhile put the couscous in a bowl with the 130 ml boiling water, cover with a plate and leave 8 minutes, then fork the grains apart. It finishes at about 220 g.
Fold the vegetables and every drop of their pan juices through the couscous with the lemon juice. It should look wet: couscous drinks up whatever is around it and turns dry and dusty without enough.
Scatter with feta and basil and finish with pepper.
Safety and storage
Keeps
2 days refrigerated below 5°C
Reheat to
steaming hot, at least 75°C
Cooked rice and pasta keep two days rather than three, so this dish takes the shorter time. Cool it fast: split large amounts into shallow containers as soon as it stops steaming, and have it in the fridge within two hours. Reheat once only, until steaming hot right through, at least 75°C in the centre.
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Zucchini braised in olive oil until it slumps, forked through soft couscous with burst tomatoes, basil and crumbled feta.
Ingredients
40 ml extra-virgin olive oil (36 g)
1 small brown onion, finely sliced (100 g)
2 garlic cloves, sliced (10 g)
1 g dried oregano
300 g zucchini, halved lengthways and sliced
60 ml water for the braise, plus 130 ml boiling water for the couscous (190 g in total)
200 g cherry tomatoes, halved
90 g wholemeal couscous (dry)
15 ml lemon juice (15 g)
120 g feta, crumbled (two-thirds of a 180 g pack)
8 g fresh basil leaves, torn
Ground black pepper, to taste
Approximate per serving
2300 kJ / 549.6 kcal · protein 19.7 g · carbohydrate 43.8 g · fibre 7.6 g · fat 30.9 g · sodium 674.9 mg
Method
Warm the oil in a wide pan and cook the onion over medium-low heat for 6 minutes, then add the garlic and oregano for 1 minute more.
Add the zucchini and 60 ml of the water, cover and cook over low heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it slumps and crushes easily under the spoon. This is a braise, not a fry: browning here means it is drying out.
Add the tomatoes and cook uncovered 6-8 minutes, until they burst and their juice thickens around the zucchini.
Meanwhile put the couscous in a bowl with the 130 ml boiling water, cover with a plate and leave 8 minutes, then fork the grains apart. It finishes at about 220 g.
Fold the vegetables and every drop of their pan juices through the couscous with the lemon juice. It should look wet: couscous drinks up whatever is around it and turns dry and dusty without enough.
Scatter with feta and basil and finish with pepper.
Safety and storage
Keeps
2 days refrigerated below 5°C
Reheat to
steaming hot, at least 75°C
Cooked rice and pasta keep two days rather than three, so this dish takes the shorter time. Cool it fast: split large amounts into shallow containers as soon as it stops steaming, and have it in the fridge within two hours. Reheat once only, until steaming hot right through, at least 75°C in the centre.
Real meals made mechanically easier to eat when chewing hurts. That is a job about texture and chewing rather than swallowing (dysphagia) guidance, and it is not a treatment for TMD itself.
