Saturday, August 21, 2010

Curried Couscous Salad


You know that feeling when you finally are getting back into your groove, back into the swing of things? It is pretty great and I feel it right now! In between working and cross country family visits and vacations, this poor little blog has been a bit lack-luster as of late. But no longer! Hurray for cooking and photographing again!

It has been pretty hot around these parts lately (which I love, I am not complaining!) and I have been daydreaming about something that is served cold, yet filling...slightly sweet, yet tangy...and really yummy. And after thinking about this long enough, I finally made it a reality. So here we go, back on the food cookin' band wagon.

what you will need:
2 c. couscous
2 3/4 c. water
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 c. red onion
1/2 red pepper
1/2 yellow pepper
1/3 c. pine nuts, toasted
1/3 c. raisins
1 c. chopped parsley
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
salt/pepper to taste

Start out by cooking your couscous, since it will have to cool after cooking. Add your curry powder to the 2 3/4 c. water that you cook your 2 c. couscous in. Cook until the liquid is boiling, take off burner and set aside, covered. Fluff and stir after 5 - 10 minutes.

Finely dice your red onion, yellow pepper and red pepper. Chop your parsley. Toast your pine nuts in a pan over medium heat, just until they start to get ever so slightly golden. They will also have somewhat of an oily sheen to them.

Toss your couscous into a large serving bowl, add your veggies, raisins, chopped parsley and pine nuts. Coat this mixture with the olive oil, red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. Stir to evenly coat all of the veggies and couscous.


Add salt and pepper to taste. If you want it a bit more tangy, add more red wine vinegar. If you want a bit more sweetness, add some balsamic vinegar. If it seems a bit dry, but the tangy sweetness ratio is in check for your taste, add a tbsp. or so of olive oil.

Set aside in the fridge to chill completely for about an hour or so. Eat on a hot day and enjoy!