Couscous salad with marinated chickpeas, apricots, mint and tahini

Method

1. Put the kettle on. Meanwhile, snip the apricots into 5 mm dice directly into the mixing bowl; scissors are quicker than a knife. Add the 180 g couscous, cumin, cinnamon, 4 g salt and 10 g oil, and rub between your fingers to coat the grains. Measure 220 ml boiling water in the jug, pour it all in, stir once and cover with a plate. Leave off the heat for 5 minutes: the water should be completely absorbed, the surface matt and the apricots plumped. If the almonds are raw, toast them in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes while the couscous swells, stirring until pale golden and nutty-smelling, then immediately transfer to a plate.
2. Prepare the marinade while the couscous swells; it can wait covered for longer without harm. Rinse the chickpeas in the sieve and drain well. In a bowl, crush the garlic with a garlic press, add 45 g lemon juice, the harissa, 2 g salt and the pepper, beat with a fork, then add 20 g oil. Finely slice both white and green parts of the 2 spring onions and add with the chickpeas. Mix and leave to marinate until assembly, letting the chickpeas take on flavour and the onions mellow.
3. Uncover the couscous and fluff with a fork for 1 minute, breaking up clumps until the grains are separate and light. If still crunchy, add 2 tbsp boiling water and cover for another 2 minutes. Spread on a large platter and cool for 8–10 minutes, or 5 minutes if stirring with a fork, until no longer hot to the touch. Otherwise, the mint will blacken and the cucumber release water.
4. While the couscous cools, make the sauce. In a small bowl, mix the tahini, 15 g lemon juice and 1 g salt, then whisk in the 30 ml cold water in three additions. The sauce will first thicken and seize, then become smooth, cream-coloured and thick enough to coat a spoon. Cut the cucumber into 1 cm dice. Wash the mint and parsley and inspect each leaf against the light for insects; herbs certified insect-free, ללא חרקים, only need rinsing. Dry in a clean tea towel, pick the mint leaves, then chop both herbs at the last moment.
5. Return the lukewarm couscous to the mixing bowl. Add the chickpeas with all their marinade, cucumber, mint and parsley, and toss gently with a fork, lifting the grains. Taste: the couscous should be distinctly lemony and well salted; add a pinch of salt and a splash of lemon juice if needed. Divide between two shallow bowls, scatter over the almonds at the last moment to keep them crisp, and drizzle with the tahini sauce.

Variants and their steps remain below the recipe.