Lemon CousCous with Dried Apricot and Roasted Almonds

200 g cous-cous

1 courgette

1 red pepper

100 g chickpeas

1 large red onion

2 cloves of garlic

small eggplant 

1 chilli

80 g of dried apricots

50 g of roasted almonds

bunch of coriander 

a bunch of mint

2 lemons

turmeric

cumin

cinnamon

olive oil

smoked pepper

salt pepper

 

If you want to prepare the perfect couscous, measure out just a little more than the weight of the pasta. For this example we will need 250-300ml of water, which we must bring to a boil.

CousCous pour into a deep dish and then rub into the bowl two lemon peel and squeeze juice from them. Add a teaspoon of curcuma and a pinch of salt and sugar. This method is a bit like making rice for sushi, but in this case we do not need rice vinegar and we replace it with lemon juice – typical for Moroccan cuisine.

Pour couscous over boiling water and cover the container for about 5 minutes. 

Cut the vegetables into particles of any size and fry in a heavily heated pan. In the case of eggplant – it should be covered with salt beforehand to get rid of the bitter taste. Then fry dried apricots with almond flakes. Everything should be cooled down before joining.

Roll the coriander and mint with scissors. All ingredients should be combined with each other and the whole should be seasoned with Roman cumin, smoked paprika, a pinch of cinnamon as well as salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil.

This salad is so flexible in preparation that we can use any ingredients used in Mediterranean cuisine. Instead of apricots we can use raisins, dates or dried plums. Chickpeas can be replaced with red beans and zucchini – Italian fennel. The lemon flavor of couscous can be changed using orange or lime, etc. 

 

The option of this dish is typically a vegetarian option and is ideally suited for a vegan meal.

As an alternative to “meat-eater”, I suggest adding fried shrimp, chicken or roast mutton. Lemon couscous is the basis in Moroccan cuisine which is famous for its rich taste of spices, mutton and dried fruits and nuts.