GINO D’ACAMPO’S COUSCOUS SALAD WITH OLIVES, ASPARAGUS AND GRANA PADANO
SERVES 4
350ml vegetable stock 250g couscous 100g asparagus tips 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into thin strips 10 cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters 50g pitted black olives in brine, drained and roughly chopped 50g grana padano cheese, coarsely grated 4 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
FOR THE DRESSING
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 teaspoon English mustard Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Pour the vegetable stock into a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the couscous and stir. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 5mins or until the water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and leave to stand with the lid on for 10mins. Uncover and fluff with a fork, then set aside to cool. 2 Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of salted water to the boil. Drop in the asparagus and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and drop into cold water. Drain and chop into 2cm pieces and put into a large bowl. 3 Add the pepper, tomatoes, olives, grana padano and chives to the asparagus. Set aside. 4 For the dressing, pour the olive oil, vinegar and mustard into a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and whisk. Pour over the vegetables. 5 Add the cooled couscous and stir together. Serve on a large platter with a few cold beers.