Make this veggie
You can easily make this veggie but making the courgette cous cous with green goddess and serving it with crumbled feta and rocket to make a sort of warm salad situation. Or replace the salmon with some crispy tofu pieces - cut the tofu, toss in polenta and flour and fry until crispy. Drizzle with the herby butter mixture and serve on top of the cous cous.

Courgettes
I know 2 courgettes might seem a lot for two people but when you fry them they do shrink down a lot to just a few spoonfuls. And also half of them get blended into the sauce. You could use one and just use it to make the sauce which is still very good but I love having the little pops of fried golden courgette in the cous cous as well as the sauce but as always take what you need from this recipe and do as you wish.

Also a note to make sure you choose the best courgettes you can find, if they are too large and a bit “wooly” looking inside when you cut into them they will be bitter. It happened to me recently, and I thought I would be able to cure them by cooking them…but you cant. The bitterness is really overpowering and will ruin your dish, so if you cut into it and it doesn't look great, abandon it before you start cooking.

I don’t want to use butter
You definitely have to. You can replace with a little olive oil.

What is pearl cous cous?
It looks, feels and tastes like a grain but it’s actually a little spherical pasta. I love it and use it for so many things. If you can’t find it, don’t stress. This recipe will work really well with orzo or your favourite small pasta shape. I don’t think it would work so well with traditional small cous cous as the sauce might be a bit much for it to handle. But another grain like pearl barley could work which would have a nice chew to it. Orzo is the nearest like for like swap.

I can’t find ricotta
Don’t stress. You could also use mascarpone - you might have some left over from last week’s panko chicken and beans recipe, in which case this would be a v good use for it. Creme fraiche would also work. And Boursin would also be amazing! For Boursin I might be tempted to add the Boursin to the pan with the courgettes once they’re cooked and add the cooked cous cous, and then toss it all together and let the the boursin melt before then pouring over the simple blended basil and courgette sauce.

1/2 a tin of chickpeas? What am I meant to with the other half?
Oh this is easy, pat them dry with some kitchen paper, and then tip onto a roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil and a little flakey sea salt, some paprika and freshly cracked pepper. Roast in a hot oven for 15 minutes or so until crunchy and golden. Sprinkle over any salad you like or tip into a bowl and nibble as you cook. These are so good. I LOVE crispy chickpeas. You can also use the whole tin for this recipe but I found 1/2 a tin is the right ratio to cous cous, nothing bad will happen if you add more, and by all means do if you’re especially hungry.