The softened carasau bread of the parcels wraps a couscous rich in flavour and energy. And such richness can satisfy even the most discerning vegan palates, because everything is entirely plant-based.

Ingredients for carasau parcels, serves 2

1 aubergine
2 vine tomatoes
250 g cooked chickpeas
approximately 100 g pre-cooked couscous
4 sheets of carasau bread
2 pieces of sun-dried tomato
1 clove of garlic
dried oregano
a few chives, to taste
one teaspoon of turmeric powder
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Fagotti di carasau — Many Mediterranean flavours in our parcels, plus all the properties of turmeric © Beatrice Spagoni

Method

Trim the aubergine, cut it into cubes and sauté in a saucepan with two tablespoons of oil and the peeled garlic clove; season with salt, then cover and cook for approximately 15–20 minutes, until soft and golden. Meanwhile, cook the couscous by just covering it with boiling water and a drizzle of olive oil. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes and cut them into cubes.

Roughly chop the sun-dried tomatoes and soften the carasau bread under a gentle stream of cold water. Leave it to drain as thoroughly as possible, then lay the dampened bread on a flat surface and wait for it to soften. Meanwhile, tip the cooked couscous into a bowl, dust the turmeric evenly over all the couscous, then add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes and chickpeas and mix everything together carefully. Shortly before the aubergine finishes cooking, scatter oregano over it to taste, add the tomatoes to the saucepan and adjust the seasoning. Leave to absorb the flavours for a few minutes, then remove from the heat and fold into the couscous mixture. Once the mixture is uniform, adjust the salt if needed, and spoon it onto the softened carasau bread. Wrap each spoonful of couscous in the bread, tie each carasau parcel with kitchen string and brush with oil. Heat a non-stick frying pan with a lightly oiled base and brown the parcels over a high flame, turning them on all sides. When the carasau parcels are golden, remove from the heat and serve with chives, to taste.

The recipe for carasau parcels with couscous, tomatoes, aubergines and chickpeas