Pomegranate and pistachio couscous

Pomeganates aren’t in season in NZ at Christmas time, but their gorgeous ruby red, jewel like seeds evoke a sense of the festive season.  This is not helped by us seeing them in Christmas recipes and dishes from the Northern hemisphere (where they are in season)  So here is a dish that uses pomegranates but in a Kiwi Christmas style.  Serve this salad on boxing day with left over ham or other cold meat.   I served mine with spiced lamb kebabs which were cooked on the BBQ.

1 cup cousous
1&1/4 cups chicken stock
1 Pomegranate
1 spring onion
bunch of parsley, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1 Tblspn honey
1 Tblspn olive oil
juice of 1 lemon and 1 orange
Salt and pepper

Put the couscous in a bowl and cover with the hot stock.  Allow the cousocus to absorb all the liquid and then cool.  Use a fork to stir it every now and then.
Add to the cooled couscous the chopped parsley, spring onions, pistachios and finally the pomegraneate seeds.  Mix together the honey olive oil and juice before using this as a dressing for the salad.  Once the dressing is stirred through season to taste.

For the lamb
I cut up 500g of Lamb leg steaks and mixed these with
1 tspn of Ras el hanout,
1/2 tspn sumac,
1/2 tspn onion salt
and some freshly ground black pepper.
Skewer them  on to bamboo skewers and cook for in a little oil for around 2 minutes on each side, then rest them before serving on top of the couscous salad.