Herbed lemon couscous with toasted cumin

• 200 g couscous
• 250 ml water
• 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemonzested and juiced
• 15 g flat-leaf parsleyroughly chopped
• 10 g fresh mintleaves picked and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp black pepperfreshly ground

1. 1

   Add 1 tbs of the olive oil to a 2-liter saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the cumin and stir constantly until it darkens a shade and smells warm and nutty, about 30 seconds. This blooming step unlocks way more flavor than just sprinkling raw cumin on at the end.

   Tip: Watch carefully — cumin goes from toasted to burnt in seconds. If it starts to smoke, pull the pan off the heat immediately.

2. 2

   Pour in the water and the salt, then raise the heat to high and bring to a rolling boil, about 1-2 minutes.

3. 3

   Remove the pan from the heat, pour in the couscous, stir once, then clamp on a lid and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes. The residual heat and steam do all the cooking.

   Tip: Resist the urge to peek — lifting the lid lets steam escape and you'll get unevenly cooked couscous.

4. 4

   Remove the lid and fluff the couscous thoroughly with a fork, breaking up any clumps. Drizzle in the remaining 2 tbs of olive oil and fluff again — this keeps every grain separate and glossy.

5. 5

   Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, chopped parsley, chopped mint, and black pepper. Toss everything together with the fork until the herbs are evenly distributed. Taste and adjust salt or lemon if needed.

   Tip: Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently in the microwave with a splash of water and a little extra lemon juice to freshen it up.

• saucepan (2-liter (2-quart))
• fork
• cutting board
• chef's knife

Per serving

Nutritional values are estimates only.