Vegetables en Papillote over Israeli Couscous with Almond-Parsley Pesto

Guess what? En Papillote means I stuffed a bunch of vegetables in some foil (didn’t have parchment paper, but foil works just as well) with a bit of butter, lemon, olive oil, and white wine, wrapped it up so it looked like a shiny cornish pasty, and bunged it in the oven for 20 minutes or so. But it sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Apparently it is a good way to cook because the flavours meld together and the juices steam the veggies. I like it because there isn’t any washing up. I sound just like my mum.

The trick of cooking this way is to combine ingredients that have roughly the same cooking time.  I parboiled the sweet potatoes beforehand, but  I had to reuse that pot for the couscous anyway.  As for the spinach- I used that as a layer on which the veggies sat in the foil in order to prevent burning.  Then i decided to throw them in the dish because I love spinach, but as you can tell spinach has a different cooking time, hence the yucky overcooked color of it.  The Almond Parsley pesto isn’t necessary, it definitely overshadows the nice flavor combination of the veggies, but I wanted to use up some parsley.

Vegetables en Papillote over Israeli Couscous with Almond-Parsley Pesto
Serves 3

1 packet of Israeli Couscous- I used that Near East Brand with a basil spice pack
1 Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 Onion, sliced into thin strips
1 Clove of garlic
1 Tomato
1/2 cup Cauliflower
1 cup Spinach
5 Mushrooms
Pecorino Cheese
2 Tbsp Butter
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 tsp White Wine
1/2 Lemon, juiced

Pesto:
1/4 Cup Almonds
1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley
1 Clove garlic
1 tbsp Parmesan
1 tbsp Goat Cheese
1/2 Lemon, Juiced
Salt and Pepper
1 tbsp Olive Oil

Boil the cubed sweet potato until half cooked, remove from heat.  Cut foil into three rectancles, 12 inches long.  Fold in half and oil the surfaces a bit.  Arrange Spinach in about 4-5″ circles.  Divide sweet potatoes among three foil circles, and place thinly sliced onions, shaved garlic, diced tomatoes, small cauliflower florets, and chopped mushrooms in each circle.  Drop a blob of buter on top, drizzle with olive oil, lemon and white wine.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring the folded bit of the foil over so there are now three open sides.  Roll the open sides so to create a half moon parcel of foil.  Cook in the oven for about 25 mins at 400F.

Meanwhile, cook the couscous and create the pesto.  Grind almonds, parsley, and garlic together in a mortar- or using a food processor.  Add in olive oil, goat cheese, lemon, and parmesan.  Season to taste.

Remove parcels from the oven and arrange over couscous.  Sprinkle with pecorino and eat alongside the pesto if desired.