Salmon and Couscous

Husband and I were treated to a fabulous lunch at K & J’s recently. Now I’m sure she won’t mind me saying that her cooking has in the past been slightly on the hit and miss side (eating at 11pm and that sort of thing!). However, on the last few occasions she has entertained us, boy has she served some fabulous food. Yesterday was no exception. K. had, rather professionally, prepped all the ingredients before we arrived and, after some melt in the mouth canapes, she and I disappeared into the kitchen – not, as in the old days for me to help with the cooking, but merely to chat to her while she expertly cooked this Jamie Oliver Salmon and Couscous dish for us all. There is a lot of chilli in this recipe – when I saw how much I wondered if I could cope with eating my portion, but (rather surprisingly) it transpired to be the perfect amount tastewise. My only caution is that if you are cooking for a larger number, the chilli catches the back of your throat while you are stir frying it but the end result is worth that temporary inconvenience! This recipe is for one – just scale up as required.

Salmon and Couscous

Ingredients serves 1
75 g couscous
120 g salmon fillet , skin on, scaled and pinboned
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 small courgette , sliced into batons
1 small handful asparagus tips
1 red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
2 ripe tomatoes , roughly chopped
½ lemon, juice of
1 small handful fresh coriander , roughly chopped
1 tablespoon full fat Greek yoghurt

How to prepare
Put your couscous in a bowl, then pour over just enough boiling water to cover it. Set aside for 3 minutes to allow the couscous to soak up the water. Slice the salmon widthways into finger-size strips, drizzle with olive oil, and season with pepper and a small pinch of salt. Heat a small non-stick frying pan and add the salmon strips on their side. Scatter over the courgette, asparagus tips and chilli and cook for 2 minutes, turning the salmon over halfway.

Mix the tomatoes, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the coriander into the couscous and season to taste. Remove the salmon strips to a plate and add the couscous to the veggies left in the pan. Mix together and then put the salmon strips back into the pan on top of the couscous, place a lid on and put back on a high heat for a minute. To serve, slide everything on to your plate and spoon over some yoghurt.