We love our salads but also like to try different things. After an indulgent Easter and my birthday straight after it is time to get back to some healthy eating. In this recipe Paulie used the giant couscous and for the crunch element he used some almonds we had left in the cupboard. It’s great to try different combination’s as it will help you stay healthy rather than getting bored of the same old salad. We bought a bag of baby herb leaves to go with this one.

Ingredients

• 1 large chicken breast
• 100g giant couscous
• 2 handfuls of any salad leaves
• 1 x preserved Lemon – chopped (Recipe here)
• 1 x tsp mustard
• 1 x tbsp honey
• 2 x tbsp olive oil
• 20g butter
• 1 x vegetable stock cube
• flaked almonds for topping

Method

1. Cut the chicken breast up into bite size pieces
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil in a frying pan and when hot fry the chicken for about 5 minutes.
3. Check that Chicken is cooked through by removing a piece from the pan and cutting it in half with a knife. If it is still pink, then cook the pieces for a bit longer, if not remove the chicken to a plate and allow to cool completely.
4. Put the Couscous into a saucepan and add 300ml of Vegetable Stock and bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 8 minutes
5. Strain the Couscous through a fine sieve and allow to drain for about 10 minutes to get rid of the excess moisture.
6. In the same frying pan that you cooked the chicken in, heat the butter and when hot tip in the drained Couscous. Fry over a medium heat for about 5 minutes or until the Couscous has taken on a bit of colour. Move the Couscous around in the pan to make sure it does not burn. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely.
7. When both the Chicken and the Couscous are cold you can put the salad together
8. Take 2 large bowls and put a good handful of your choice of salad leaves into each one.
9. Place the mustard, honey and 3 tablespoons of Olive Oil into a screw top jar and give a good shake to combine. You want an oily salad dressing consistency so if it’s too thick add a bit more oil.
10. Tip 1 tablespoon of the Honey Mustard Oil into the cold Couscous and stir well to combine. Add more of the Oil if you want to
11. Next mix the Couscous with the salad leaves and add the pieces of chopped preserved Lemon.
12. Now add the cold fried Chicken and drizzle over the rest of the Honey Mustard Oil
13. Finally sprinkle with some of the chopped almonds