GIANT COUSCOUS, AUBERGINE AND RED PEPPER SALAD WITH CREAMY TAHINI DRESSING

This salad is perfect as a side (we had it as an accompaniment to harissa roast lamb with hummus and baba ganoush), or with the addition of chickpeas or halloumi it would make a wonderful lunch dish.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 large red pepper

1 aubergine

100g wholewheat giant couscous

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:

1 tbsp tahini

60 ml olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

Pinch of salt

1 ice cube

Method:

First, prepare the veggies. Slice the aubergine into rounds and place in a bowl. Add one tablespoon of olive oil, some salt and pepper and massage into the aubergine. Get a griddle pan nice and hot and add the aubergine (you’ll probably have to do this in two or three batches). Cook, turning  regularly, until the aubergine is nicely coloured on the outside and gooey on the inside. Set aside on some kitchen paper to cool, and then chop roughly into 2cm pieces.

Next, take the red pepper and place it straight onto a lit gas hob so it starts to blacken. Turn regularly with tongs until the pepper is completely blackened. If you don’t have a gas hob you can do this under the grill, again turning regularly to ensure the skin is as evenly blackened as possible. Once blackened and cooled enough to handle, peel off the skin. I find this easiest to do under running water. Then remove the membrane and seeds and again dice into 2cm pieces.

Put the aubergine and pepper into a mixing bowl.

Cook the couscous by adding to 500ml of boiling water. Simmer for around eight minutes, or until tender. Drain and add to the aubergine and pepper.

Finally, make the dressing. Add all the ingredients to a mixer and blitz (this can also be done with a stick blender). The ice cube will help to emulsify the sauce making it deliciously creamy. Add the dressing to the veggies and couscous (you may not need all of it so go slow!) and give it all a good stir before serving.