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This is the perfect accompaniment to a creamy curry or tagine, or as a barbecue side salad. Packed with dried fruit, toasted nuts, green herbs, citrus and pomegranate seeds, this has all of the flavours of Western Asia and the beautiful colours make an elegant and stunning dish on the table. Although quite a hefty list of ingredients, there aren't many steps as it is pretty much just a case of combining everything together.

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Recipe

250g couscous
1 red onion (100g), thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves (12g), crushed
1.5 tsp citrus zest (lemon or lime or a combination of both)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2.5 tbsp orange juice
1.25 tsp toasted cumin seeds
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp cinnamon
100g dried fruit (raisins, chopped apricots, chopped figs or a mix of 3)
30g roughly chopped fresh herbs (coriander, parsley, mint or a mix of 3)
80g pomegranate seeds
150g toasted nuts (flaked almonds and pistachios or a mix of both)

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients from the red onion through to the pomegranate seeds together and let sit in a bowl for as long as possible, preferably overnight. This will allow the red onion to soften and the dried fruit to plump up in the citrus juices.
Cook the couscous according to packet instructions, usually by soaking in hot water for about 10 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed.
Mix the couscous and the nuts into the rest of the ingredients. I find that mixing by hand is easiest. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe by CAMYOGA Chef Alice Kabala

This is a great recipe to kick-start the New Year; it’s light, super-healthy and still uses the best of the vegetables that we have in season here in the UK. It is also very easy to make, especially if you own a food processer which can chop and grate the vegetables in a matter of seconds. It also happens to be vegan, gluten-free and raw! The richness of the tahini in this vegan salad works wonderfully with the sweetness of the apples and raisins, especially when offset by the sharp tanginess of the cider vinegar. I would serve this dish as part of a salad selection, perhaps with a quinoa salad, a dip and some protein. However, it’s also excellent as a crunchy side to a stew and rice, or combined with some falafel and homous inside a flatbread or tortilla wrap. The possibilities are endless!

One thing to note is that it doesn’t keep too well because the vegetables start to release water, and the taste deteriorates over time; I would suggest combining the dressing and the vegetables just before you intend to serve.

Ingredients

For the dressing:

70g tahini

60g cider vinegar

15g flat-leaf parsley (plus more to garnish)

2 small sweet apples (I used gala), cored and de-seeded

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

¼ tsp dried chilli flakes

For the salad:

225g celery

500g carrots

Half a red cabbage

150g raisins

Instructions

1. To prepare the dressing, use the small component of a food processer to whizz up all the ingredients. If you don’t own an electric mixer, grate the apple manually and whisk up all the ingredients in a bowl. The dressing is quite a stiff mixture; this is because the salt in it will encourage the vegetables to release moisture and if it were runnier, the whole dish would end up being too ‘wet’.
2. Grate (or use the grating attachment from a food processer) to grate the celery, carrots and cabbage.
3. Combine the dressing, the vegetables and the raisins in a large bowl. I find it easier to mix using my hands to make sure everything is incorporated.
4. Garnish with some springs of parsley for colour. Enjoy!