Couscous is a staple ingredient across North Africa. It’s usually steamed and often served with vegetables and spices mixed through it.

It's a versatile dish and can serve it as an accompaniment to meat, fish, vegetables, tagines, or a tasty salad.

This is a granular style of pasta which is made by sprinkling durum or hard wheat semolina grains with cold salted water then rolling and coating them in fine wheat flour.

Vegetable couscous

Serves four

125g of couscous

50g of broad beans

50g of fresh peas

25g of sweetcorn

25g of whole almonds

25g of raisins

2 garlic cloves

1/2 onion

25g of butter

6 green olives

4 fresh mint leaves

250ml vegetable stock

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Place a pan of salted water on the stove and bring it to the boil. Add the broad beans and boil them for 2 minutes, then add the peas to the broad beans and boil for a further 2-3 minutes or until tender.

Next finely chop the onion and crush the garlic. Place a heavy based pan on the stove over a moderate heat. Add the butter to the pan and when it starts to foam add the onion and garlic and gently saute for 2 minutes.

Add the cooked peas, broad beans, tinned sweetcorn, chopped olives, almonds and raisins to the onions and stir everything together.

Add the vegetable stock and bring it to the boil.

Roughly chop the mint then add it to the pan along with the couscous. Remove the pan from the heat, stir everything together then place a tight-fitting lid on top and leave for 5 minutes.

Once the couscous cooked, season with sea salt and freshly milled pepper and serve.

Notes of lemon zest, lime juice and beeswax combine with the acidity of the apple notes to mingle nicely on the palate.

2010 Rioja Capellania, Marques de Murrieta, (L’Art Du Vin, £19.25,

www.aduv.co.uk)