Thursday, September 30, 2010

Healthy Couscous Salad

Couscous is one of the most popular food from North Africa, and has become increasingly popular in the rest of the World. It is made from semolina (coarsely ground durum wheat) transformed into tiny grains. As I've found for myself, it can be made on many different ways, but it always keeps its particularly delicious taste and presence on every dish or combination of ingredients. This time I bring to you one of my favorites ever: Couscous Salad.

Couscous is one of my favorite dishes ever. Well, I should say ingredient. As I've read there are many ways to make a dish using Couscous. Before I came to Germany, I had not the chance to try it before, here I found a good and easy-to-cook pre-steamed, let's say, instant Couscous, and since I tried it, I make it at least once a week! It is now part of my diet. Couscous it is very fulfilling and very very healthy, even more if its made with nothing but raw vegetables as I am going to show you next. This salad is great because it can be served as a complete dish on its own, or can be accompanied with grilled chicken or turkey breast. Let your imagination fly!

So now I bring you the salad, some time soon I will be bringing some other dishes I've made with Couscous and using some imagination, combining different ingredients and presentations.

Have you made Couscous before? Is there any recipe or idea you would like to share with our readers? Feel free to leave your comment below! And I will select the best idea or recipe and will try to make them come true. If the recipe or idea is a delicious success, I will publish the recipe with your respective mention.

Couscous Salad
(4 portions)

Ingredients:
  • 150 gr Couscous (pre-steamed or Instant)
  • 200ml Water
  • 4 Tbsp Sweet Corn
  • 4 Tbsp small dices of Red Paprika
  • 4 Tbsp small dices of Celery
  • 4 Tbsp small dices of Cucumber
  • 2 Cherry Tomatoes cut in small dices
  • 4 Tbsp small dices of Radish
  • 2 Tbsp small dices of Carrot
  • 1 Tbsp small cut Leek
Preparation:
(10-15 min)

Cut all the vegetables in smaller dices.

To cook the Couscous, follow your package instructions. For mine, it is really easy to do: Put the water to boil in a small or medium sauce pan on medium to low fire. Add one tsp. olive oil and salt. Then add the couscous slowly and stir it with a spoon at the same time. Keep stirring until the couscous absorbs the water. This should take around 2-3 minutes. Remove from fire, and add one tbsp butter or margarine. Stir the couscous until all is well mixed. Put again the sauce pan on fire, keep stirring 45-60 seconds more. Remove from fire and add the ready couscous to your salad bowl.

Then add all the vegetables already diced. Season as you wish with salt, pepper and herbs. Mix all very well.

For the seasoning cream, I made a delicious, healthy and so easy to make yogurt cream.

Hand mix well in a bowl:
  • 1 Tbsp Cheese cream
  • 2 Tbsp natural yogurt
  • Some drops of Olive oil
  • salt, pepper, garlic, herbs and if you want, a point of chili

Serve the Couscous salad and crown with the Yogurt seasoning, eat and enjoy!

3 comments:

Wendy Martin said...

Another awesome recipe! Thanks Van

Suzie Kent said...

I'm a cous cous addict -play with it all the time :) my current fave is frying up some onions, chile and lamb chucking in pre cooked cous cous and then stewing it all together with apricots, garam masala and whatever other spice smells nice :) Oo and butternut squash goes great too though I have to cook it separate or it turns to mush :S

Van said...

Great idea Little Canary Bird, and hehe you can add all the indian spicies and will still taste like heaven!.. great tip with the Lamb and steaming all together... Gotta try that!! :) Thanks for your recommendation!