Pearl Couscous Salad

“Pearl Couscous Salad” is one of my favourite things to cook when I want to cook something in a trice! What I like about this dish is this is one of the easiest and quickest dishes where you get the carbs, crunch and all the nutrition.

Pearl couscous is also known as Israeli Couscous is one of those versatile ingredients, if you cook it properly and pair it well then it is quite enjoyable!

I have to be honest, salad isn’t one of the things my husband looks forward to unless he is on healthy sprees. Which in the last 11 years has happened maybe twice.. Sigh.  So I have to come up with salad recipes which can enjoy because even though I am zealot when it comes to health I can’t really (or possibly otherwise) make him eat something healthy. Hence I often make a warm Pearl Couscous Salad and I like to serve it with either grilled chicken or steamed fish.

Now if you are concerned about the couscous made with plain flour or semolina flour there is always an alternative available in the markets such as wholemeal couscous. But do give this recipe a try!

I served the Pearl Couscous Salad with a delicious Sous vide chicken but you can serve it with whatever you fancy.

If you like recipes like this, check these out!

Apricot Chicken with Buckwheat

Kasha and Black Bean Salad

Black Beans and Cauliflower Salad

So this is how you make this salad!

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot diced
• 1 parsnip diced
• 1 boiled potato diced (optional)
• 1 big shallot diced
• 1 tomato deseeded and diced
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 1 or to taste red chilli (optional)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp crushed fennel seeds and cumin seeds
• Black pepper to taste
• ½ tsp black lemon powder
• 1 tsp sumac
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 250g pearl couscous

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken thighs skinless
• 1 tbsp dried coriander leaves
• 1 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• Black pepper and salt to taste
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

In a saucepan add the pearl couscous toast it for 5 minutes and add water, 1 tsp oil and salt. Boil till al dente. Wash it thoroughly and sprinkle some oil so it doesn’t stick.

Heat oil in a pan, add in the garlic and shallots. Saute for a few minutes till raw smell is gone. Add in the chilli, carrots and parsnip and saute for 5 minutes. Don’t overcook the vegetables, it should have a crunch. Add in the potatoes, mix well.

Add in the all the spices, herbs and couscous. Mix it well. Cover the pan for 2-3 minutes.

Serve warm with a piece of fish or chicken.

For Chicken:

Marinate the chicken in all the ingredients mentioned above for minimum 30 minutes to 2 hours. Vacuum pack the chicken and sous vide it for 1 hour 15 minutes on 74C/165F.

While it is warm brown the chicken from both sides. Serve with the salad.