Couscous, Cherry Tomato & Herb Salad with Arati Menon

On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a written recipe—and you'll be right alongside them, every step of the way. Feel free to pause, jump back, or navigate the steps via the podcast chapters.If you're cooking along, here's the recipe we're making today. Go ahead and grab the ingredients below (Arati starts listing them at 0:52) before starting the episode.Ottolenghi's Couscous, Cherry Tomato & Herb Salad1 1/2 cups couscous6 tablespoons olive oil2 teaspoons ras el hanoutSalt and black pepper1 2/3 cups boiling water10 ounces cherry tomatoes2 onions, sliced paper-thin1/4 cup golden raisins1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed1/3 cup roasted and salted almonds, roughly chopped3/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped3/4 cup mint leaves, roughly torn1 lemon (finely zest to get 1 teaspoon, then juice to get 1 tablespoon)Place the couscous in a medium bowl. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon ras el hanout, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and plenty of pepper, then pour in the boiling water. Stir, cover the bowl tightly with foil and set aside for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, fluff the couscous with a fork, and set aside to cool.Put 1 tablespoon of oil into a large frying pan and place over high heat. Once hot, add the tomatoes and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring a few times, until they start to brown and split open. Remove from the pan, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and set aside with any juices.Wipe the pan clean, then add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and return to medium-high heat. Add the onions, the remaining 1 teaspoon of ras el hanout, and 1/8 teaspoon salt and fry for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring until dark golden brown and soft. Remove from the heat, stir in the raisins, and set aside to cool.Once the couscous has cooled slightly, transfer it to a large bowl. Add the onion and raisin mix and stir. Add the cumin, almonds, cilantro, mint, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a generous grind of pepper and mix gently.Transfer to a serving platter, top with the tomatoes, and serve.Photo by Jonathan Lovekin.Have a recipe you'd like to hear us cook? Email it to us at [email protected]!Lobby Time Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/