I need it to be summer now so we can eat things like the above.
I threw this salad together to use up some ingredients last year and it was a massive hit with them indoors and it looked very colourful and pretty so I took a quick picture.
It's not really a recipe, more like instructions on how to assemble a few ingredients.
RECIPE
Serves 2, but double for more people.
1 Avocado
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
2 Vine Tomatoes
A Handful of Basil Leaves
2 Slices of Nutty Bread
100g Cooked Giant Couscous
1 Packet of Asparagus
Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil
INSTRUCTIONS
Make the couscous to the packet instructions
(You can use normal small couscous but it is smaller and tends to stick to everything)
Cut all the vegetables ready to griddle. Nice and big, not too small.
Tear the basil leaves up and put to one side.
Toast the bread and chop into croutons.
I have a griddle pan so I heated it up until it smoked slightly.
Steam the asparagus, plunge into ice water, toss in olive oil, then griddle.
Toss the peppers in some olive oil and put them in the pan.
When they are almost cooked add the tomato, you don't need to cook the tomato fully, just char it and warm it through.
You can also put the avocado on for a minute which will create more flavour and is nice when charred, but not cooked.
The pan needs to be really hot for this and the avocado needs to be pre-oiled slightly. It's a nice way to use an under-ripe fruit.
Remove the cooked veg and plate up.
In the remaining juice/oil left in the pan add the toasted croutons, they will absorb the blackened bits and the juices from the veg.
Scatter the couscous over the vegetables, then sprinkle the torn basil and the croutons.
Add the asparagus and drizzle your olive oil and balsamic over the top to taste. Salt and Pepper too obvs.
If you are a meat-fiend have a side of meat.
