Lemony Salmon with Cherry Tomato Couscous

So here’s the second installment of the meal I made for my parents last week, a Lemony Salmon Steak with Couscous, another Nigella creation, and just as good as the last. Brilliantly easy to put together, the couscous cooks itself, leaving you time to get on and fry the salmon. Frying gives you all the control that you need to ensure the salmon is cooked just right, crispy and brown on the outside, but still deliciously coral coloured on the inside (at least that’s how I like mine). Together, the salmon and the couscous make a tasty, light meal, which is perfect for those watching their waistline in preparation for the summer getaway.

The recipe can be found here, the only changes I made was to omit the paprika as I didn’t have any. (1 cup couscous = 200g, 1 pint of cherry tomatoes = 300g)

Salmon Pre-frying 

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £4

Kitchen Requirements: WIDE DISH, NON-STICK FRYING PAN, 3 BOWLS, CLING FILM.

Couscous Salad

This is the couscous salad that I served with yesterdays African Drumsticks. Couscous is such a versatile carbohydrate and makes for delicious summer salads that are satisfying too. On this occasion I chose to use a recipe from the Leon cookbook, but its very easy to rustle up something with whatever you’ve got in the fridge. Things that work great include torn up fresh herbs, chopped red onion, dried fruit, olives or sun-dried tomatoes. Put in a Tupperware and taken to the beach, it’s a great accompaniment to a whole host of picnic grub, a real signifier of summer.

From Leon: Naturally Fast Food

Serves 2

10og couscous

100g feta cheese

½ cucumber

handful of fresh mint and coriander

50g pine nuts

seeds of ½ pomegranate

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp olive oil

juice of ½ large lemon

1. Prepare the couscous according to manufacturers instructions and leave to cool in a large bowl.
2. Crumble the feta and cut the cucumber into little chunks. Add to the bowl, then add the fresh herbs, roughly torn.
3. Lightly toast the pine nut in a little oil in a frying pan, over a low heat, and then scatter these and the pomegranate seeds over the salad.
4. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Whisk together with the oil and lemon juice and pour over the salad. Season to taste and serve.

Culinary Know How: FRESHER

Budget: UNDER £3

Kitchen Requirements: FRYING PAN, LARGE BOWL, SMALL BOWL.