- 15 minutes
- Prep 10 minutes
- Cook 5 minutes
- Serves 4
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
Ingredients
- 250g couscous
- Half a teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 lemon, zest finely grated and juice squeezed
- 300ml hot vegetable stock, made with a stock cube or stock pot
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 20g fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 15g fresh mint, leaves chopped
- 80g pomegranate seeds (optional)
- Salt
- Black pepper
Let's cook
- Put the couscous in a large heatproof bowl. Stir in the cumin and the lemon zest.
- Pour over the hot stock, stir once and cover the bowl tightly with a plate or cling film. Leave it for 5 minutes. The couscous soaks up the stock and cooks in its own steam.
- Uncover and fluff the grains with a fork, scraping and lifting so there are no clumps.
- Drizzle in the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and fluff again.
- Fold in the spring onions, parsley and mint. Taste, then add salt, pepper and more lemon juice until it tastes bright.
- Spoon onto a platter and scatter the pomegranate seeds over the top, if using.
Tips
- Use a fork, not a spoon: a spoon squashes the grains and makes them sticky.
- Add the herbs just before serving so they stay green.
- It is lovely warm or at room temperature, so it is easy to make first while the main cooks.
Swaps
- Gluten free: use quinoa (simmer it in the stock for 15 minutes) instead of couscous.
- More filling: stir in a drained 400g tin of chickpeas.
- No pomegranate: use a handful of chopped dried apricots, but note these often contain sulphites.
Tags
In Twenty minute dinners, Plant powered.
Contains: Cereals containing gluten .
Of the 14 allergens, only gluten is in this recipe, from the couscous (made from wheat). Stock cubes and stock pots can contain celery, so check the packet.
Check every packet for allergens.