Lemon-herb chickpea couscous bowls
A bright, packable lunch with fluffy couscous, chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes and lemon.
Timing is an estimate. Camp stove output, wind, cookware and ingredient temperature affect how quickly a dish cooks. Use the visual cues and safe-temperature advice in the recipe.
This is a no-fry lunch for the day when you have already carried enough gear. The couscous only needs hot water; while it steeps, chop the vegetables and rinse the chickpeas.
Pack it safely: assemble the bowls with clean hands and utensils, chill them promptly, and keep them cold until lunch. A lunch that has warmed in a hot pack is not made safe by smelling or tasting it. Bring drinking water from a safe source and follow campsite guidance for washing and waste disposal.
The feta adds salt and creaminess, but the bowl is still satisfying without it. Add olives or a small tin of drained tuna at camp if your group wants more protein; keep opened, perishable items chilled and eat them promptly.
Lemon-herb chickpea couscous bowls
A bright, packable lunch with fluffy couscous, chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes and lemon.
Ingredients
- 250 g (9 oz / about 1½ US cups) quick-cooking couscous
- 300 ml (10 fl oz / 1¼ US cups) boiling water, or the amount on the couscous packet
- 1 tin chickpeas (400 g / 14 oz), drained and rinsed
- 1 medium cucumber (about 300 g / 10½ oz), diced
- 200 g (7 oz / about 1¼ US cups) cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ½ small red onion, finely diced
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
- 15 g (½ oz / ¼ US cup) chopped parsley
- 75 g (2½ oz / ½ US cup) crumbled feta
- Salt and black pepper
How to make it
- Put the couscous in a heatproof bowl with a pinch of salt. Pour over 300 ml boiling water, cover, and stand for 5–10 minutes or for the time stated on the packet. If the grains still feel firm and the bowl is dry, stir in 15 ml (1 tbsp) more boiling water, cover for 2 minutes, then fluff.
- Fluff the couscous with a fork. Stir in the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, and black pepper. Leave it to cool before adding the fresh vegetables.
- Fold in the chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion and parsley. Taste and add salt or more lemon as needed.
- Divide into four clean, lidded containers. Add feta just before eating, or pack it in a separate chilled container.
This contains cut vegetables and feta, so it needs to stay cold. Pack the bowls in an insulated cooler or lunch bag with frozen ice packs and eat them while still chilled. For a hot-weather hike without cold storage, leave out the feta and cucumber and choose a shelf-stable meal instead.
