Win Dinner in London with Jamie Oliver, Author of "Happy Days with the Naked Chef"

Near East grain side dishes invites cooks with a creative flair and passion for international flavors to enter for the chance to win an exclusive dinner party in London, hosted by Jamie Oliver at his restaurant.
Jamie Oliver, the best-selling cookbook author and television personality, infuses passion and fun into his cooking and loves using Near East plain couscous because it absorbs a world of flavor whether he is using flavored stocks, grilled vegetables or fresh herbs. One of his favorite recipes, and a great first course salad, Couscous with Grilled Vegetables and Loadsa Herbs is featured below.

To win a "worldly" dinner with Jamie Oliver, entrants must submit ideas for their own "worldly" themed dinner party. Concepts should include a suggested international locale, music, decorating ideas, and incorporate at least one Near East product. Near East's family of products includes a variety of couscous, rice pilaf, pasta, and many more. To enter or to see a full set of contest rules, please visit www.epicurious.com/promo/neareast. Entries must be received before Oct. 31, 2002.

One grand prize winner and a guest will receive an unforgettable dinner conceived and created by Jamie Oliver at his hot new London restaurant, Fifteen. Three runners-up will win themed dinner parties in their homes.

The contest kicks off Jamie Oliver's U.S. book tour to launch his latest cookbook, "Happy Days with the Naked Chef" (Hyperion, Oct. 16, 2002, $34.95/hardcover), available in bookstores nationwide this October. Join Jamie Oliver during his tour as he brings his Happy Days Live show to select cities in bookstores and specialty stores across the country. A complete schedule of his tour is available on www.neareast.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Recipe reprinted with permission from "The Naked Chef Takes Off" (Hyperion) Jamie Oliver ltd. 2000.

SIDE BAR:

Couscous with Grilled Vegetables and Loadsa Herbs

1 10 ounce box of plain Near East Couscous

1-1/2 cups cold water

3 red bell peppers

1 handful of asparagus, trimmed and peeled, if need be

2 or 3 small firm zucchini, sliced

1 small bunch of scallions, trimmed and finely sliced

2 to 4 fresh red chilies, seeded and finely sliced

3 good handfuls of mixed fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, mint, flat-leaf parsley)

olive oil and lemon juice dressing recipe - see below salt and freshly ground black pepper

red wine vinegar

Place the couscous in a bowl with the cold water. This will start to soften the couscous and you will see the water disappear as it soaks in. While the couscous is softening, blacken the peppers. Do this by placing the peppers directly onto the flame of a gas stove. If you don't have gas, blacken them under the broiler. Either way, you need to blacken the peppers on all sides, so turn when need be. When fully blackened, place in a sandwich bag, wrap in plastic wrap or cover in a bowl for 5 minutes until cool. This will steam the skins and make peeling and seeding easier. Remove the skins and seeds and roughly chop.

On a very hot, ridged skillet, lightly char the asparagus and squash on both sides, then toss them into the bowl of couscous with the peppers, scallions, chilies, and ripped-up herbs. Mix well. Add the olive oil and lemon juice dressing and toss well. Finally taste and season with salt and pepper and a couple dribbles of red wine vinegar for a slight twang. It's a beautiful thing.

This couscous recipe is quite a bit different from the norm because instead of boiling or steaming the couscous, you just dress it raw with a really tasty dressing. This means it keeps a slight bite, which I think is more interesting for a salad. Serves four.

Dressing

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2/3 cup olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Just chuck all your dressing ingredients into a jam jar, tighten the lid and shake up. Dress your salad, and any leftovers can remain in the jar, in the back of the fridge, raring to dress your next salad. And the best thing is that there's no washing up of bowls, whisks and bottles, just a jam jar.