With the summer holidays just round the corner, we’ve had a couple of school/ kindergarten “end of the year” parties. For one of those events I made this salad, it went down very well and one of my friends asked for the recipe…so this is for you Francesca.

Ingredients
500g/ 17.6oz couscous
600ml/ 1.2pt vegetable stock
5 tbsp olive oil
10-12 apricots
200g/ 7oz pistachio nuts
100g/3.5oz sultanas
1 handful of mint leaves

Dressing
5 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 limes (juiced)
(1 tsp of honey if you like)
salt, pepper & couscous seasoning (coriander, cumin, chili, anise, mustard seeds, cinnamon)

Boil 600ml of stock, take off the cooker and pour the couscous into the pan. Leave to soak for about 5 minutes. Add 5 tablespoons of olive oil and stir it with a fork to get rid of any clumps. Free the pistachio nuts from their shells (you might…