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Couscous Salad with Grilled Vegetables 30.12.2007

This is basically a Jamie recipe, which I adapt depending on what ingredients are available at the time. I always use peppers though, as they’re the heart of the meal. Basically any vegetable that’s nice when chargrilled is going to work.

Ingredients

• 255g couscous
• 285ml cold water
• 3 red peppers
• a Bunch of asparagus
• 2 zucchinis
• 2 – 4 hot chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
• 3 big handfuls of herbs. I like using mint, coriander and parsley, but basil is good too. The important thing is to use lots of whatever you’ve got.
• 1 or 2 shallots or a small red onion, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 10 (yes, 10) tablespoons olive oil, as nice as you can spare
• salt and pepper to taste
• red wine vinegar

Method

Chop the shallots and chilli and put in a small bowl with the oil, lemon juice and a few generous splashes of red wine vinegar. This will marinate the shallot a little bit and make it less harsh, so the earlier you do this the better, even a couple of hours before if you remember.

Put the couscous in a bowl with the cold water to marinate. Leave for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, blacken the peppers over the flame of your stove (if you don't have a gas oven you can put them under the grill). Get them completely black all over, then put in a plastic container or bag, sealing them until they cool. Once they're cool remove the skins and seeds, and chop however you want them.

Heat up a chargrill pan, making sure it's completely dry. I discovered recently that oil only makes it smoke, so don't worry about that. Put the asparagus and zucchini on the grill until nicely chargrilled. Toss them with a little bit of oil, then combine with the peppers, shallots and dressing, couscous and chopped herbs. Mix well and season with salt, pepper and maybe a bit more red wine vinegar.

Photos of me making this can be found at My Flickr page

File under vegetarian summer healthy