Roasted courgette and apricot salad

I'm going to share something with you that might seem a bit lame but I'm quite proud and pleased with myself so laugh away if you will because I won't mind one bit! I've been doing a little bit of experimenting with food, a pinch really. Current circumstances have cornered me and made it quite necessary that I improvise and use some initiative. I'm a staunch follower of recipes, rules in fact. I like having instructions, a formulation, knowing that something is going to turn out well (or, at the very least that it will turn out the way the recipe intended, for good or for bad!). So, it's quite liberating for me to take a chance and say 'hey, I could fail, this could turn out completely unpalatable and inedible, but so what?!' That's my new thing - looking Failure in the eye and not blinking or turning away. I can see him quaking in his boots slightly...

Ok, enough of the build-up. What exactly did I do? Well, I replaced roasted butternut squash with roasted courgettes in my couscous salad. I told you this might be lame. I'll give you a moment to laugh at me...OK, done? The thing is that this was originally an Ottolenghi recipe and anyone who knows me well will know that I positively and unquestionably revere Ottolenghi. So, to modify one of their recipes was quite courageous for me. Whats more, I actually preferred the salad with the courgettes - they were juicier, which added an uplifting moistness to the dish, and the slightly sour flavour better complemented the tart apricots. Who would have thought?! Every bite brought me delight and wonder. This is good. This is really good. I had an I-love-myself moment.

Naturally, this success has instilled me with an even greater desire to divert from the well-trodden path to good food and find my own way there. I anticipate many failures and disasters along the way but I'm ok with that. Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say. Now, what I really need are some brave and hungry guinea pigs to tag along for the ride. And, I promise this will get more exciting than a mere switching of one type of squash to another. So, any volunteers..?

Roasted Courgette and apricot couscous salad (modified from Ottolenghi)

Preheat oven to 230c. Roughly chop courgette into 2cm cubed pieces, place into a roasting dish and mix with 1-2 tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt. Roast in oven for approximately 20 mins. Chop one medium onion and gently saute in 1-2 tbsp olive oil until soft and golden. Place to one side and allow to cool. Soak a handful of dried apricots in hot water for 5-10 mins. Then, finely dice in 5mm cubes (this can be done quite roughly). Rub 1 tbsp olive oil into 150g couscous (the finer the better) and pour 180ml chicken stock over. Cover and leave the couscous to soak for about 5-10 mins. Fluff up the cooked couscous with a fork and gently mix in the onions. Then, add the apricots, 1-2 tbsp chopped mint and the zest of one lemon. Finally, add the roasted courgettes and season the couscous with salt and pepper to taste.

Et voila! You're done. I've written this recipe in a pretty rough and fluid way so as to encourage you to change it as you wish. Have some fun - toasted hazlenuts, rocket leaves, cinnamon, the sky's the limit with what you can do! And, if you hit upon something good, I want to know!