Couscous Salad with Curried Vinaigrette
This side.
Every food I love, in one bowl, mixed together and drizzled with the most delicious vinaigrette. If you think this salad doesn’t qualify as a celebratory dish, I beg to differ. Fresh and tangy with a killer crunch, it’s absolutely delightful and the perfect side for any and all festive occasions. It involves couscous, green onions, garbanzo beans, red pepper, tomatoes, raisins and parsley but the curried vinaigrette is the real clincher for this salad.
Colorful, flavorful, and crunchy.
Unlike most of my recipes, there is virtually no cooking involved in this. I imagine some of you are looking at all the chopped vegetables in this recipe and starting to sweat. Please don’t. I promise, prepping the salad is less miserable and time consuming than you may think. And the best part is that you can make this salad the night before so that you can minimize stress & maximize fun. Then go ahead, sit back and soak in the major compliments that you are guaranteed to receive.
Cheers to you, my friends! May your holidays be filled with love.
Couscous Salad with Curried Vinaigrette
1 cup couscous
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tomato chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup currants or raisins
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1/3 cup sliced & toasted almonds
Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper
Bring vegetable broth to a boil and slowly stir in the couscous. Mix thoroughly with a fork, cover and remove from the heat. Let stand until stock is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and spread on a baking sheet to cool. Transfer to a large bowl. Mix in tomato, green onion, garbanzo beans, red pepper, raisins and parsley.
To make dressing:blend lemon juice, oil, garlic, cumin, curry powder and Tabasco in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Add dressing to couscous mixture and toss well. Refrigerate at least one hour or up to 1 day. Sprinkle with almonds before serving.