Herb & rocket couscous with feta

First of all, couscous is nothing like quinoa so stop that! Couscous is semolina granules made from crushed durum wheat. No one knows what quinoa is.
Anyway, I LOVE couscous, especially for lunch so I make this recipe quite a lot. It’s also cheap which is good because I appear to have misplaced all of my money. I swear I used to have some.
Right I won’t bang on, it’s Friday night and we should all be out frolocking and getting jolly drunk. However, I’m the sado who stayed in to write her blog, watch The Office and drink hot chocolate like a reclusive old bint – my evening was actually rather pleasant until I thought the apron hanging up on the kitchen door was a ghost.

Herb & rocket couscous with feta
Serves 4 / Hands on time 20-25 mins / Total time 20-25 mins / V
You’ll need: Food processor, cling film
150g couscous
200ml vegetable stock, I use ½ a Knorr stock pot
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tsp rapeseed oil
¼ tsp cumin
¼ tsp salt
30g fresh coriander
20g fresh mint leaves
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 handfuls walnut pieces, chopped
3 spring onions, finely chopped
200g vegetarian feta cheese, crumbled
40g rocket
Extra virgin olive oil to serve

Method
1. Measure out the couscous and place in a large bowl. Pour over the vegetable stock and give it a mix with a fork – make sure all the couscous is fully covered. Cover with cling film and put to one side.
2. In a small frying pan, fry the onions in a tsp of oil over a medium to low heat for a few minutes – add a dash of water to help the onions steam. Once a little softened, sprinkle over the cumin and salt. Stir before covering with a lid and leave to sweat on a low heat for 10 mins.
3. Meanwhile, put the coriander (including any stalks) into a food processor, along with the mint leaves (stalks removed). Add 1 tbs of extra virgin olive oil and blitz until you have a rough paste.
4. Remove the cling film from the couscous and start raking the top layer with a fork to loosen the grains. Continue to rake until you have a light fluffy bowl of couscous. Add the herb paste and incorporate into the couscous still using the fork to distribute the herbs evenly.
5. Add the onions, walnuts and the spring onions to the couscous and give it a good mix before incorporating the rocket a handful at a time. Finally crumble in the feta, season well with salt and pepper and serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.