Honey and harissa roast apricots with spinach, labneh and couscous

Lifestyle Recipes Everyday Honey and harissa roast apricots with spinach, labneh and couscous A “hero dish” of sweetened, chilli-hot apricots in a rustic mix of couscous with lemon, olives and pistachios Save Comment speech bubble icon Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 08 July 2026 12:56pm BST Save Comment speech bubble icon Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Your apricots don’t have to be perfectly ripe for this; the heat transforms even substandard fruit Credit: Haarala Hamilton and Valerie Berry Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 08 July 2026 12:56pm BST 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. Requires 8 hours of straining time   Overview Prep time 20 mins Cook time 50 mins Serves 6 as part of a spread Ingredients For the labneh 250g Greek yogurt 1 fat garlic clove, grated For the apricots, spinach and couscous 3½ tbsp olive oil 1 tsp harissa 2 tsp honey 10 apricots, halved ¼ tsp chilli flakes a little soft light-brown sugar (optional) 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 Step For the labneh, drain off any liquid on the top of 250g Greek yogurt. Stir in 1 grated garlic clove and ½ tsp salt, then tip the mixture into a piece of muslin or a brand-new J-cloth.  Step 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 8 hours. Step Heat the oven to 190C/180C fan/gas mark 5. Line a small roasting tin with foil.  Step Mix 1½ tbsp of the olive oil with 1 tsp harissa and 2 tsp honey in a small bowl.  Step Put 10 halved apricots in the tin and pour the mixture over them. Sprinkle over ¼ tsp chilli flakes. Roast for 15 minutes.  Step 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 light-brown sugar on each of them. Step Wash 300g spinach leaves and put them in a large pan with the water that’s left clinging to them.  Step Cover with a lid and set it over a medium heat. Turn the leaves over a couple of times. They will wilt in about 4 minutes. Drain and leave to cool, then squeeze the moisture out using two plates. Season and pull the spinach into lumps, about the size of a cherry.  Step Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan and sauté the spinach for a few minutes.  Step Add 1 grated garlic clove and gently toss the clumps of spinach with it in the oil. Step Heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a separate frying pan and fry 1 red onion (cut into slim crescents) until golden.  Step Add the remaining 1 grated garlic clove and cook for another couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Lift the onion out of the pan with a slotted spoon and put it in a bowl.  Step Add 120g carrot matchsticks to the pan and fry until they are just softening a little but haven’t lost their crunch. Season with salt and pepper, add 2 tbsp orange juice and let it evaporate, coating the carrot. Step Put 200g couscous in a bowl. Add the zest of 1 orange, 300ml hot stock or water, 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and salt and pepper. Cover with cling film and leave for 15 minutes, then fork through the couscous and tip it into a broad, shallow serving bowl.  Step Add the juice of ½ lemon and 1 finely chopped preserved lemon along with the onion, carrot, 60g roughly chopped green olives and 35g roughly chopped pistachios. Next, add most of the 3 tbsp chopped coriander and torn leaves from 8 sprigs of mint and toss them together. Step Put lumps of the labneh, the spinach and the apricots on top. Sprinkle on the remaining herbs, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and serve. Join the conversation Show comments The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy. Related Topics Vegetarian recipes, Couscous recipes, Spinach recipes, Honey recipes, Apricot recipes, Harissa recipes License this content You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. Find out more here. Log In Subscribe Advertisement More Stories