Israeli couscous is actually a type of ‘pasta’ made from wheat. The key to making it delicious is toasting it before cooking in the same way that you cook risotto, by the absorption method. If you’re making this for a large number of people, you may prefer to toast the couscous in the oven.

Hijiki is just one of the fabulous family of edible seaweed – it is jet-black and comes in dried form from Japanese and health food shops. If you can’t locate any, try arame – another more readil