Couscous is a commonly used staple food which proves to be suitable as a snack or part of a larger meal. It is simple to prepare but the outcome will provide a flavoursome dish everyone can enjoy.

There are a number of different ways to present couscous but one popular option is to introduce some roast peppers onto the plate. Ideal as a side dish, the cost is minimal but it doesn’t mean you will end up scrimping on taste.

Ingredients (to serve 4):

4 medium peppers
2 cups of dry couscous
Lemon juice
1 large courgette

These are just a few ingredients that you could add into this recipe. Other possibilities could include tomatoes, onion or even something like apricots. You can incorporate almost anything into your couscous so be creative and have fun.

Preparing the peppers:

1. First, pre-heat your oven to a medium temperature
2. Slice the peppers in half and deseed them
3. Chop the courgette into small chunks

Cooking the peppers:

When ready, add all the pepper halves onto a large baking tray, place in the oven and leave to cook for approximately 30 minutes. Larger peppers may need slightly longer (consider adding on another 10 minutes if necessary).

Cooking the couscous:

You won’t need to think about getting the couscous ready until 5 - 10 minutes before the peppers are finished.

1. Boil a small amount of water in a pan (2 or 3 cups should do the
trick but this will need to be varied, depending on the amount
of couscous being used), make sure the water is slightly covering
the grains when they are added to the pan

2. Add a drop or two of lemon juice during cooking to give the couscous
a more enhanced flavour

3. Cover, take pan off the heat and leave for approximately 5
minutes, stirring occasionally

4. When it is the ready, the couscous should be fluffy and all the
water evaporated. Give one final stir before serving

Final preparations:

When the peppers are ready, you should peel off any blackened skin and then plate these individually ready for the couscous.

Before doing anything else, it is time to add the chopped courgette to the couscous and mix again. Once this has been done then you can spoon the appropriate amount into each of the plated pepper halves.

Tuck in and enjoy.