Rainbow Couscous Warm Salad
RAINBOW COUSCOUS WARM SALAD by Right-Brain Joanna
Plain warm couscous often seems dry, but the addition of crispy vegetables, interesting bits of dried fruit ‘n’ nuts, and blanched snow peas makes this side dish into the star of the dinner.
The fragrant capful of rosewater does make a difference to the salad – and is inexpensive You’ll find it in the international aisle of the grocery store, alongside the pomegranate molasses. You can also splash some into your bathtub full of warm water for a blissfully fragrant soak!
Sauce
Juice of one lemon
Healthy pinch of saffron
1/4 cup/60ml thick yoghurt, hung (see tip) or Greek style
2 tsp/10ml Pomegranate Molasses
Scant capful rosewater, optional
Salad
1 1/2 cups/260g couscous
2 cups/500ml water
6oz/175g mixed colourful pepper dice
1 1/2-2oz/50g dried apricots, scissored into pieces
1/2 cup/250g (or more) roasted pistachios (hold back some for decorating)
1/4 large bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped with some florets left whole (about 1/4 cup chopped)
1 bunch/ 5 spring onions, cut into rings
2oz/65g blanched snow peas
4oz/115g baby tomatoes, halved
Seeds from a medium-sized pomegranate (optional)
- Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl, and crush the saffron into it to infuse with colour and flavour.
- Mix thick yoghurt with juice, pomegranate molasses, and rosewater to make a nice sauce.
- Finely dice, and prepare all the vegetables and fruit as described. Combine in a large pasta bowl with sauce.
- Make couscous by heating water to a boil; add a pinch of salt and the couscous. Quickly remove from the heat, cover and in a couple of minutes fluff with a fork.
- Add to the vegetable mix. Toss the couscous into the vegetables and mix well decorating with more cilantro and some pistachios. (If the season is right, add a handful of pomegranate seeds to the mix.)
Tip: “Hang” a quantity of regular yoghurt to transform it into thick Greek-style. Simply drain it through cheesecloth lining a colander for an hour or several hours in the refrigerator.
