Saturday, February 13, 2010

Moroccan Couscous Salad

Summer means lots of BBQ's in our house. Almost every night, we cook on the BBQ. Rissoles, Salmon Patties, Fish, Chicken, it doesn't matter what it is, if it can be fried, Steve has to cook!

That means lots of salads too, which can be difficult if produce isn't always available and fresh. I love recipes that use store cupboard and freezer ingredients and I've adapted a Taste.com.au recipe. This salad is almost a meal on its own and it keeps for two or three days:
Photography by Ben Dearnley

Moroccan Couscous Salad
350 - 500g cubed pumpkin
2 - 3 Tbsp dukkah
1 Tbsp peanut oil
oil for frying
250g frozen (or fresh) broad beans (or peas)
1 cup boiling water
1 cup couscous
2 tsp Thermomix Vege stock or 1 tsp vege stock powder
1 can chickpeas, drained
30g toasted pine nuts
Chopped fresh coriander (or dried, or parsley)
Lemon Mustard Dressing

Toss cubed pumpkin into a freezer bag and pour in peanut oil. Shake to coat. Add dukkah and shake around until all coated.
Fry gently in the extra oil, stirring frequently until well browned. Drain and set aside to cool.
Simmer broad beans in a little water until just tender and drain. Pinch beans out of their skins and discard skins.
Place stock into boiling water and stir to dissolve. Stir in couscous with a fork to separate. Place a cover over container and set aside for about 5 minutes or until all liquid is dissolved. Stir with fork to separate grains. Place into salad bowl and stir in all other ingredients. Finish with the Lemon Mustard Dressing to taste.

NB: If you don't have any dukkah on hand, use a combination of spices such as coriander, cinnamon, ginger and cumin and add some sesame seeds to the mixture.











2 comments:

  1. Meg I am a huge fan of salads and bbqs. In our household if I can't be bothered cooking I declare it a bbq night and gladly hand the cooking reigns over to Ben.

    You should definitely try my two favourite salads.

    The first is similar to yours. Tossed some cubed pumpkin in a little oil and then lay in a single layer on a tray lined with baking paper and bake in the oven. Once cooked toss together with lentils, finely sliced spanish onion, chopped goats fetta and pinenuts. Dress with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

    My second favourite is a take on tabbouli using Israeli cous cous. Cook cous cous as per directions and toss together with chopped mint, chopped parsley, chopped tomato, chopped cucumber and a can of drained four bean mix. Dress with a dressing of lemon juice, oil, seeded mustard and a dash of sweet chili sauce.

    I'm enjoying your posts!

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  2. Yummo Kate! They both sounds fabulous. I'm just starting to eat lentils and chickpeas, trying to reduce my red meat intake.
    I fry my pumpkin because sometimes it's a little watery and just goes soggy when baked in the oven. It's also much quicker!
    Your dressing for the Israeli Couscous is pretty much the Lemon Mustard Dressing that I use - it's a take on your Mum's dressing that she uses to marinade fresh champignons for adding to lettuce salad....

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