Couscous salad with chickpeas and goat’s cheese

This week’s Weekend Herb Blogging event, that great idea that Kalyn had, is being held by Karen from the beautiful and inspiring blog Rachel’s bite.

I have not prepared this recipe with the event in mind, In fact I did have another recipe that I really wanted to post. I just picked it out of a book on Moroccan dishes. However, when I tasted it I thought that it would be a mistake not to use t his recipe.It has so many Maroccan elements to it.

It is very seasonal in that it will go very well in a summer day, when one sometimes does not feel like standing the stove heat for long. You prepare it very quickly and it is a meal in itself. Plus it it full of goodness. And, nearly forgot that, looks great too. Golden sun colour because of the turmeric, plus the other beautiful reds, greens and white. Next time I prepare it I might add some diced dried dates.

Couscous salad with chickpeas and goat’s cheese

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 ½ cups chicken stock ( or vegetable stock for a vegetarian version)

1 ½ cups couscous

420g chickpeas, cooked and peeled

150g goat’s cheese, crumbled

2 red peppers, seeds removed and roasted in the oven

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons each chopped mint and parsley

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 preserved lemon

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add onion and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes to light brown. Add crushed garlic, tumeric, and cinnamon, and cook for another 30 seconds, then add stock and bring to the boil

2. Stir in the couscous, then remove pan from the heat, cover and leave to steam for 10 minutes to soften. Remove covering and fluff up couscous with a fork. Set it aside to cool

3. Toss through the remaining salad ingredients, except preserved lemon, and season well with salt and pepper to taste

4. Remove flesh from preserved lemon and discard. Rinse the rind with cold water. Finely slice rind and scatter over finished salad to garnish