Kisir / Couscous Salad

Before you start: I do know traditional Kisir is made with Bulgur, but I didn't have any at hand and think that Couscous works just fine :) another disclaimer: this is my personal version of Kisir, no intention to upset any other cooks out there who do it differently :) I served it as a side for a barbecue evening and thought it went really well with the meat, though on its own the next day it was delicious as a summer salad :)

Ingredients

250 g of couscous or bulgur
half a cucumber
3 tomatoes
2-3 spring onions
parsley
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
2 tablespoons of pepper/paprika purée
1 tablespoon of butter
lemon juice
salt and pepper
pomegranate syrup
parsley

Add your couscous to a bowl and immerse in 500 ml of boiling water. If you use bulgur then you may have to cook it in a pan for a set amount of time, see your package for instructions. Set aside to cool. Heat up the butter in a pan and once dissolved, add in the tomato purée and the pepper/paprika purée. Add about a tablespoon of lemon juice once everything has been mixed together and finish off by adding about 5 tablespoons of water. Pour that over the couscous and work it all in, it's best to use your hands for this but a spoon and lots of time will work too :)

In the mean time halve the cucumber and scoop out the watery seeds. Cut up into small pieces. Quarter the tomatoes and take out the seeds, too, then cut up into the same size pieces as the cucumber. Slice the spring onions into fine rings. Tear the parsley into smaller bits. Season the couscous with salt and pepper and a tablespoon of pomegranate syrup and add in the tomatoes, cucumber and the spring onions once the couscous has completely cooled down. Decorate with some more parsley if you wish and enjoy :)