Spelt Cous Cous Salad

Would you like to know how to make the best spelt cous cous salad you've ever tasted? And would you like to know how to make it taste each time surprisingly different? Well, it is very simple: just open your fridge and dump everything you have in it into a bowl. :D Okay, maybe not really everything. Maybe, you might want to follow a kind of meaningful criteria and your culinary instinct, try to avoid mixing peaches with anchovies – even if it could be a nice experiment to try – so that you won't end up with something absolutely uneatable, but on the contrary, tasty and original. :) Trust me, this is fun, always gives good results, and you'll never get bored eating the same salad. :)

For this dish, I used ready-in-5-minutes spelt cous cous, but feel free to use whatever kind of cous cous you prefer. Wheat cous cous is fine, too, if you have that, or basmati rice, wild rice, whole grain spelt, quinoa etc...according to me, they are all good for cold salads. :)

As for the peas, I had some fresh ones left from the day before, but peas from the can, or frozen peas are also good. It really doesn't matter and it is not important that they are fresh harvested. It would be better, but not necessary. Actually, you know what? I think you'll laugh like crazy after reading my story, or maybe you'll just find it very sad. Anyway, when I was a kid I was so used to eating peas from the can, that when my grandmother gave me hers to eat – just harvested from the field and freshly cooked in a pan – I didn't like them at all because their taste was weird. It was too real. That is what I said, I still remember. It took me quite a long time to get used to the fresh ones and in a way I still prefer the canned ones because they remind me of my childhood. :)

Anyhow...use the peas you like and enjoy your cous cous salad. :)

INGREDIENTS for 3-4 people:

250 g spelt cous cous

40 g fresh rocket salad

100 g peas

100 g olives (green or black)

4 or 5 marinated (in oil) artichoke hearts

1 teaspoon dried Provençal herbs (a mix of rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, savory, bayleaf)

2 or 3 teaspoons olive oil (or as much as you want : ) )

salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the cous cous as directed on the box. Wash and mince the rocket salad. Chop the artichokes and olives into pieces, add the peas (if you use fresh or frozen peas, boil them for 8-10 minutes before adding them to the salad), and pour everything in the cous cous. Add the herbs, and add some salt and pepper to taste. Since the artichokes are already a bit oily, taste your salad before adding some extra oil. You might not need it according to how much oil you poured when you added the artichokes into your mixture. Mix well and enjoy. :)