Israeli couscous, corn, chicken and herb salad

Tamara West

Israeli couscous is a pasta shaped like rice or small balls. It features in a lot of cafes and restaurants nowadays and is easy to find and cook. However if you don’t have it on hand, you can easily substitute orzo or risoni pasta, or normal instant couscous — just follow the cooking instructions on the pack.

Ingredients

2	Corn cobs, husks removed, cut in half (Main)
1 cup	Fregola sarda (or Israeli couscous) (Main)
1 cup	Chicken stock, or vegetable stock (made from stock powder)
1	Chicken breast, cooked, shredded (Main)
1 ½ cups	Cucumbers, diced
3	Spring onions, sliced
2 small	Courgettes, peeled into ribbons with a vegetable peeler (optional)
3 Tbsp	Sundried tomato tapenade
¼ cup	Pine nuts, toasted
¼ cup	Chopped mint
¼ cup	Chopped fresh coriander

Directions

1. Cook corn cobs in boiling water for 8-10 minutes until kernels are bright yellow and tender. Drain and allow to cool before cutting off kernels with a sharp knife.
2. Place israeli couscous and chicken/vegetable stock in a small pot and simmer 6-8 minutes on low heat, partially covered, stirring frequently to prevent sticking to the bottom. Turn off heat and leave, covered, for 5 more minutes.
3. Toss couscous with chicken, cucumber, spring onion, courgette (if using), sundried tomato tapenade, pine nuts and herbs. Divide between plates and serve.