Chickpea & couscous salad

Ingredients

• 200g couscous
• 200ml reduced salt vegetable stock, hot
• 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
• Pinch of freshly cracked black pepper
• 1x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 Lebanese cucumber, diced
• 1/2 red onion, finely sliced
• 1 yellow capsicum, seeds removed, diced
• 2 tomatoes, seeds removed, diced
• 95g tinned tuna in springwater
• ¼ cup chopped mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

1. Place the couscous in a large bowl. Pour over the hot vegetable stock and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.  
2. Fluff couscous with a fork and season with pepper. When couscous is completely cold, stir in the chickpeas, cucumber, onion, capsicum, tomato, tuna, black pepper, mint and parsley. 
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the remaining olive oil, the lemon juice and, add to the couscous and stir until well combined.  

Notes

• Olive oil, avocado and canola oils are great sources of monounsaturated fat (good fats).
• Monounsaturated fats have been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels and decrease the risk of heart disease.  
• Stir through shredded BBQ chicken instead of tuna as an alternative protein source.