I fell in love with couscous while travelling alone in France in my twenties. With only the pack on my back, a low budget and only occasional access to cooking facilities, I had to rely mostly on sandwich stands and prepared market foods for my meals. One of the few prepared foods I could find in French grocery stores was containers of couscous salad. They were a welcome and refreshing break from baguette! The origins of couscous are in North African cooking, so these containers of delicious salad were particularly easy to find in the south of France where the culinary influences of countries like Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia - on the southern shores of the Mediterranean - are commonplace.
The finely chopped green goodness in this couscous salad is kale. I'm growing a red variety in my garden this summer called Redbor and it seemed the perfect addition to this light and nutritious salad along with Mediterranean favourites like tomatoes, garlic, onion, lemon juice, olive oil and honey.
Here's how I made it:
makes 6 servings
1 1/2 cups dry couscous
1 cup kale, finely chopped
1/3 cup onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups boiling water
1 cup fresh tomato, diced
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp honey
The couscous, kale, onion and garlic were added to a large heat-proof bowl. I stirred in the boiling water, then added the remaining ingredients and stirred to combine. I let the salad chill in the fridge, covered, for one hour then fluffed with a fork to serve.
I also love couscous prepared with spices like cumin and saffron and bits of toasted nuts and raisins. Oh yes, I think I need to start keeping the pantry stocked with couscous!
What's your favourite way to enjoy couscous?