Vegetable and chicken cous cous salad

This is a classic pasta salad, you can use rice of a small pasta as well, but I think that cous-cous better absorbs  all the different flavours. This dish should be prepared in advance, and eaten warm or at room temperature, so take it off the fridge at least half an hour before eating it! (or pass it in the microwave for short time).
For a vegetarian dish, do not use the chicken, slightly increase the quantity of your vegetables and cook your cous-cous with vegetable stock.

Ingredients (serves 4) (or many as an appetiser!)

400 grs / 1 lb instant cous cous or rice or small pasta (fregola)

1/2 chicken with skin, cut into pieces

2 medium sweet peppers (one red and one yellow) finely sliced

2 zucchini finely sliced

1 shallot

1 small handful salted capers

grated zest of 1 lemon or very thin slices of lemon

thyme

salt 

Extra virgin olive oil

1) Put the  chicken in a large casserole, cover with water and let it boil until cooked. You will obtain a nice stock to cook your cous cous with! Take out of fire and let cool down.

2) Clean an cut your vegetables, keeping them into different containers. Make smaller pieces if you want to use this recipe as an appetizer and serve in small containers.

3) Gently saute the sweet peppers and the zucchini separately with some oil and salt OR as I did for short - cook them in the micro-wave with some salt and extra virgin olive oil (couple of spoons for each vegetable). They should remain a little bit crunchy.

4) Wash out the salt from your capers and wash and cut or grate the lemon zest, slice the shallot.

5) Drain the chicken, discard the skin and the bones and cut it into small pieces. Keep the stock! Dress with some salt. Add the cooked vegetables and the oily liquid they made by cooking.

6) Prepare your cous cous following the instructions on the container and using the chicken stock.

7) When ready add the cous cous to the other ingredients, add the capers, the lemon, thyme and the shallot, and mix well. Add  some more extra virgin olive oil.

Let it "rest" for at least half an hour and it is ready!

Yes of course, here are my small portions -  great for an appetiser or snack!