Couscous Salad

Couscous can be boring, claggy and dull. It can also be rather delicious. I like it made into a salad. It works as a dish on its own, as an accompaniment to falaffels and tzatsiki, or a Moroccan-style stew.

Serves: 2. Prep: 2 minutes. Soaking time: 5 minutes.
Stores: A couple of days in the fridge.

Tools

• Chopping board
• Knife
• Large bowl
• Plastic wrap, or lid for the bowl
• Scales
• Fork

Ingredients

• 100 grams couscous
• 1 teaspoon stock powder, or 0.25 stock cube
• Boiling water (enough to cover the couscous)
• 1 tomato
• 2 spring onions
• Small handful fresh coriander (optional)
• 6 almonds (optional)

Method

1. Weigh out the couscous into the bowl.
2. Mix in the stock.
3. Pour over boiling water so that it just covers the couscous and stir quickly.
4. Cover with plastic wrap, or with a lid, and leave for 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile. finely chop the tomato, spring onion, as well as coriander and almonds (if using).
6. When the couscous has absorbed all the water, fluff it with the fork. This can seem a little fussy, but it is really worth doing or the grains stick to each other and the whole thing can end up a little like porridge.
7. Add the vegetables, mix and serve.

Variations

• Tabbouleh? Swap the coriander for parsley and mint, and the spring onions for a left-over bit of red onion and you have couscous tabbouleh.