Homemade Lunch Ideas: Cous Cous with Spiced Butternut Squash, Goats Cheese and Chickpeas

Two days a week I have uni classes straight after work, so either have to take lunch and dinner with me, or end up splashing out far too much money on sandwiches and the like. And to be honest, sandwiches two meals in a row, two days in a row, gets a bit disheartening. With this in mind I've vowed to try out some more inspired packed-lunch ideas, starting with one of my favorite grains: cous cous.

Ingredients

• 1 butternut squash, flesh peeled and chopped
• 1 courgette, cut into semi-circles
• 1 red onion, roughly diced
• 1 tsp each of cumin, paprika, chilli flakes, and ground coriander
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed whole and skins left on (see pic)
• good drizzle of oil for roasting the vegetables
• 100g goats cheese
• 1/2 a can or carton of chickpeas
• 250g cous cous
• 1 lemon, juiced
• slosh of olive oil for the cous cous
• salt and black pepper to taste

Makes four portions (approximate cost per portion £1.45)

1. Pre-heat oven to 220 oC. Put butternut squash, courgette, red onion and garlic in a roasting dish. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle over the spices, then toss everything around until it's well coated. Roast until vegetables are soft but not turned to mush.
2. In a pan, just cover the chickpeas with vegetable stock and simmer gently for 5 mins until tender.
3. In a saucepan or large bowl, prepare the cous cous as per packet instructions, adding the lemon juice as well. When ready, uncover and fluff up the cous cous with a fork, give it a good slosh of olive oil, and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. When your vegetables are ready, slip the garlic out of their skins. Add the veg into the cous cous along with the chickpeas, and give a good stir. Crumble in the goats cheese and mix gently.
5. Enjoy your sandwich-free lunch!