Giant couscous with black beans and green peppers

Prep Cook Serves Cost 40 min 30 min 4-6

About £1.20 a head

500g green çarliston peppers, or romano peppers 40ml olive oil

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

½ tsp caster sugar Fine sea salt and black pepper

1 x 400g tin black beans, drained (240g)

1 onion (180g), peeled and finely chopped

1½ tbsp hot Turkish pepper paste, or harissa

1½ tbsp tomato paste

1½ tsp ground allspice

½ tsp chilli flakes 250g pearl couscous, or regular couscous or quinoa

500ml vegetable stock

15g flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

7g dill fronds, finely chopped

As with many pasta and grain salads, this is a great one to take on picnics, because it’s quick to assemble, it can be made ahead, it travels well and it’s pretty resilient. Look for çarliston peppers in Middle Eastern food shops. If you like, crumble on some feta at the end or serve with yoghurt.

Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/ gas 9. Put the peppers on a large oven tray lined with greaseproof paper, drizzle over a teaspoon of oil and roast for 15 minutes, until blistered in patches. Remove, fold the paper over the peppers, then leave them to steam and cool for 10 minutes.

Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, pull off the stems, peel and discard the skins, then remove the seeds and pith. Tear each pepper into two or three thick strands, and put in a small bowl with the vinegar, sugar, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of water. Mix gently, then leave to pickle while you get on with making the rest of the dish.

Mix the beans in a small bowl with a teaspoon of oil and a quarterteaspoon of salt, and set aside.

Put a medium pan on a mediumhigh heat, add the remaining oil and the onion, and cook, stirring, for five minutes. Turn the heat to medium, add the pepper and tomato pastes, and cook, stirring, for three to five minutes, until the mix starts to split. Add the allspice, chilli, couscous, stock, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper, bring to a simmer, then cover, turn down the heat to low and cook for eight minutes.

Uncover the pan, tip the beans on top of the couscous, cover again and cook for two to four minutes, until the liquid has evaporated. Set aside, still covered, for 15 minutes.

Stir the herbs into the couscous, spoon half of it on to a platter and top with half the pepper pickle. Repeat with the remaining couscous and peppers, and serve.