Herby Couscous Recipes

Steps:

• Place the couscous in a shallow bowl, then pour over 200ml boiling water. Cover the bowl with cling film, then leave for 5 mins until the couscous has swelled up and absorbed all of the water. Ruffle with a fork to separate the grains, then stir through the pomegranate seeds and herbs.
• Make a dressing by mixing together the orange juice, white wine vinegar and olive oil, then stir into the couscous. Season well with salt and serve.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots, cumin, and fennel seeds; cook, stirring frequently, until shallots are translucent, about 2 minutes. Add couscous, chicken broth, and salt. Cover; reduce heat to low, and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in parsley, sage, and marjoram. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Put the onion, lemon zest, juice and 1 tbsp oil into a small bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, then leave to soak for 5 mins until the onion has softened a little. Pour the hot stock over the couscous in a large bowl, cover with cling film and leave for 10 mins until the stock has been absorbed.
• Season the tuna steaks, brush with oil, then pat the mustard powder over both sides. Once the couscous is ready, add the parsley and capers to the onions, stir well, then mix into the couscous with a fork. Heat a griddle pan and sear the tuna for 1 min on each side until medium-rare. Serve the tuna with the couscous and lemon wedges on the side.

Steps:

• Put the couscous into a bowl and stir in the stock and oil. Cover with cling film and leave to stand 10 mins, then uncover and fluff up with a fork. Keeping back some herbs, add the rest of the ingredients, except the salmon. Season to taste.
• Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cut two large sheets of non-stick baking paper, then divide the couscous between them. Sit each fillet on the couscous, top with the remaining herbs and season. Fold the paper over, then twist the edges to seal - like a Cornish pasty. Pop the parcels onto a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins or until the fish feels firm through the paper. Serve in the bag.

Steps:

• Place the couscous in a bowl with the cold water. This will start to soften the couscous and you will see the water disappear as it soaks inches.
• While the couscous is softening, we need to blacken the peppers. I do this by placing the peppers directly on to the naked flame of my gas hob. If you don't have gas, then blacken under the grill. Both ways you need to blacken the peppers on all sides, so turn when need be.
• When fully blackened, place in a sandwich bag, wrap in clingfilm or cover in a bowl for 5 minutes until cool. This will steam the skins and make peeling and deseeding easier. Remove the skins and seeds and roughly chop.
• On a very hot ridged grill pan, lightly char the asparagus and courgettes or patty pans on both sides then toss them into the bowl of couscous with the peppers, spring onions, chillies and ripped-up herbs. Mix well.
• Add the olive oil and lemon juice and toss well. You may need more than 40 ml, you may want less it depends on you. Finally, taste and season with salt and pepper and a couple of dribbles of red wine vinegar for a slight twang. It's a beautiful thing.

Steps:

• Bring the stock and oil to a boil, stir in the couscous, remove from heat, cover and set aside for five minutes.
• Fluff with a fork, fold in the parsley and chives, season to taste with salt and pepper and keep covered until ready to serve.