Couscous & Tomato

When a few of us had tea at a friend’s house a couple of months ago, she made an amazing couscous & tomato dish that I just couldn’t get enough of.

For some reason I’ve really been in the mood for couscous & tomato these last couple of days (maybe a subconscious longing for something light after too many days of feasting), and I didn’t want to bug my friend for her recipe because she’s on honeymoon right now. So I just went ahead and whipped up something simple on my own.

I’m pretty sure I’m missing one or two of the key ingredients she used. It was missing that special kick. Nonetheless, it was a very nice refreshing change, and a good party dish I think, that you can pair with just about anything. Tonight we had it with some fish…

Ingredients: (3-4 pax if just a side dish)

1 cup couscous, cooked according to package instructions

10-15 cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 a medium cucumber, chopped into little square pieces

Handful of chick peas (I didn’t use any because I didn’t have any)

1/8 cup olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice (I used more than this, and it was a tad too much I thought)

1 tsbp chopped fresh basil (Again, I didn’t have any, so I used a basil & dried tomato mix I have. Not quite the same, but it worked ok. Think you can use whatever herbs you like that would go well – parsley, coriander etc.)

Salt & pepper to taste

1. Cook the couscous, cut the tomatoes and cucumber.

2. Toss together couscous, tomatoes, cucumber and chick peas.

3. Mix in a small bowl the olive oil, lemon juice, basil (or other herbs), salt and pepper.

4. Pour dressing over couscous and mix well.