 300g spinach leaves (weight after removing the thick stalks) 2 garlic cloves, grated to a purée 1 medium red onion, cut into slim crescents 120g carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks zest of 1 orange, plus 2 tbsp juice 200g couscous 300ml boiling water or vegetable stock 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to serve juice of ½ lemon (you might not want it all) 1 preserved lemon, finely chopped (get rid of the seeds) 60g green olives, flesh cut away from the pit and roughly chopped 35g pistachios, roughly chopped 3 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped leaves from 8 sprigs of mint, torn Method 1. For the labneh, drain off any liquid on the top of the yogurt. Stir in the garlic and half a teaspoon of salt, then tip the mixture into a piece of muslin or a brand-new J-cloth. Set this in a sieve over a bowl, put in the fridge and let the excess moisture drain off, squeezing the cloth 'bag' a couple of times. Leave for at least eight hours. 2. Heat the oven to 190C/180C fan/gas mark 5. Line a small roasting tin with foil. 3. Mix a tablespoon and a half of olive oil with the harissa and honey in a small bowl. Put the apricot halves in the tin and pour the mixture over them. Sprinkle with chilli flakes. Roast for 15 minutes. 4. When they've cooled a little, taste a bit of one apricot half. Sometimes they can still be sour – it depends on the batch. If they haven't become quite sweet, sprinkle a little bit of soft brown sugar on each of them. 5. Wash the spinach and put it in a la){kind=link}
A hero dish of sweetened, chilli-hot apricots in a rustic mix of couscous with lemon, olives and pistachios
When you’re planning an all-vegetable meal you must have a hero dish. This is a hero dish. Even substandard apricots work – they’re transformed by the heat.
Prep time: 20 minutes, plus 8 hours’ draining
Cook time: 50 minutes
Six as part of a spread