Couscous salad with fennel, herbs and walnuts

(Serves 5 – 6)

Ingredients
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
I teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
300g wholemeal giant couscous, also called Israeli couscous, or moghrabieh
1 onion, diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 fennel bulb, chopped, tops reserved
2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
a small handful of mint leaves
75g walnuts, lightly toasted (if you can be bothered) and roughly chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
walnut oil (optional)

Put the cumin, coriander and fennel in a dry frying pan and toast for a few minutes, shaking the pan to make sure that they toast evenly. When they are fragrant, tip them into a mortar and grind them into a powder.

Fry the vegetables and garlic in some olive oil a large frying pan for about 5-8 minutes. Fry them on a medium heat stirring often, so that they soften a little bit, but still have some crunch. Remove from the heat and add the spices and lemon zest.

Cook the couscous according to packet instructions in boiling, salted water – about 8-9 minutes. When it is done, drain it and mix it with the vegetable and spice mixture.  Allow it all to cool slightly, and then add the chopped herbs, walnuts and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Before serving add a little bit more oil and lemon juice.