Chunky. Spiced. Easy. Versatile.

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Food painting artwork

30 x 30cm acrylic on paper. The paper is no ordinary paper, it is textured Hahnemuhle 300 gsm 100% alpha cellulose which is acid-free fibre of vegetable origin. 

Befitting a Moroccan style dish, this piece is done in the Moroccan zouaq decorative style of painting. This is often used to cover furniture as well as doorways and walls. It's colourful and heavily based on pattern. It's finicky and requires patience. The results can be quite exquisite and delicate.

By the way, all the food painting artwork is available to own in the Official Art Store.

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2 medium to large red capsicum

1 large eggplant

2 large zucchini

1 large red onion

1/4 butternut pumpkin

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

3/4 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds

200g green beans

around 260g cooked chickpeas

1 head garlic

350g/2 cups couscous

2 cups boiling water

juice and zest of 1 1/2 big lemons

Heat the oven to 220C/440F.

Chop the capsicum, eggplant, zucchini and pumpkin into large chunks of about 4cm. Chop the onion into large sized wedges.

Put these into a roasting tin and toss in the olive oil and salt and pepper.

Roast for 25 to 30 minutes.

Top and tail the beans and cut into bite sized lengths.

Add the beans, garlic, chickpeas, cumin seeds and coriander seeds to the roasting pan.

Mix well.

Roast for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let stand while you cook the couscous.

Mix the couscous and boiling water, along with a little salt and pepper. Let stand for 5 minutes or so until all the water has been soaked up and the couscous tastes done.

Squeeze the lemon juice over the vegetables.

Serve up both veges and couscous together.

This feeds around 4 people.