Couscous Salad

I'm back with a brand new recipe! August has kept me super busy with commitments and work.

I was finally able to get down to posting a few recipes.

This recipe is so adaptable and is perfect for a well-rounded lunch, or dinner side dish. It contains vegetables, grains and protein. It is adaptable because you can pretty much throw any combination of vegetables  or beans into it.

My vegetable combination for this recipe is heirloom carrots, bought fresh from the Jean-Talon farmer's market in Montreal, radishes, red onions and red peppers. I used chickpeas for my recipe, but white or red kidney beans would be equally delicious. The only thing is that chickpeas can handle being tossed around in the salad, whereas I find that kidney beans are more prone to becoming mush.

I used Israeli couscous for my recipe because I love how big the granules are. Technically, Israeli couscous is a pasta, not a grain like regular pasta, but it is great for soaking up sauces, like the dressing to this salad.

This salad is best served at least room temperature, if not cold. The best way to do this in a hurry is to stick the couscous in the freezer and then do all your prep work for the vegetables, giving it time to cool off.

Here is my recipe for Couscous Salad.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Israeli couscous
2/3 cup boiling water
1/2 cup chickpeas
1 medium red onion, diced and seperated into two halves
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 small heirloom carrots(regular ones are fine too), thinly sliced
5 radishes, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
dash red chili flakes

Dressing Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp pure maple sirop, nothing with an Aunt on it!
1 tsp Dijon mustard
dash freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

In a small pot, heat olive oil at medium-high and add half of the red onion and the chili flakes. Saute for a couple of minutes and then add the couscous. Coat the couscous with the olive oil and let toast until a medium brown. Add garlic, continually combining. Add boiling water, lower to low heat, and cover. Let cook for 10 minutes.

Once cooked put the couscous into the final large bowl and put into the freezer for a quick chill, or into the fridge.

Combine all of the diced vegetables, including the other half of the onion, into the bowl wih the couscous. Drain and rinse chickpeas and add them to the bowl.

Combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk until combined. Pour dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly.

This salad tastes better if it sits and the dressing is allowed to absorb into the couscous, so I suggest making it at least an hour ahead of time and letting it chill in the refridgerator.

Enjoy!

Caramelized Almond & Strawberry Salad

I'm back! My trip was great, it is always nice to get out of the usual daily routine and try something different for a few weeks. That being said I felt so at home that coming back has been pretty difficult.

Here are a couple of pictures from my trip.

 Beautiful waterfall while hiking in the Golan.

 The Kotel/Western Wall, Jerusalem.

 Laying by the beach at the Kinneret/Sea of Galilee.

To make things easier on myself, I decided to throw myself into a cooking project. Since being in Israel, I am finding myself always craving salad. Fresh and really good produce is always available there, and it is almost all locally grown.

The prices reflect the transportation costs, so it is much cheaper to buy fresh fruits and vegetables there. This also means that when eating out at restaurants, a salad doesn't consist of iceberg lettuce and two slices of tomato, like it does here.

This salad recipe was inspired by a salad a friend of mine made in Israel. I have changed it a little and made it my own, but it is a wonderful base idea. The tangy-ness of the dressing mixed with the sweet  strawberries and caramelized almonds on a backdrop of bitter and savoury greens gives this salad a well rounded flavour.

Adding grilled chicken or tofu is a great way to make this salad into more of a meal then a side dish.

Here is my recipe for Caramelized Almond & Strawberry Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup roasted almonds
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 bag of washed mixed baby greens/baby spinach/any combination of lettuces
1 package of fresh strawberries(approximately 12-15) washed and sliced

Salad Dressing Ingredients

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Directions

In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Add balsamic vinegar and let reduce for 1-2 minutes.

When the mixture is simmering, add brown sugar and let melt for 2 minutes, stirring gently to ensure that all the sugar is combined evenly.

Once mixture is bubbling, add the almonds, making sure to turn them around in the caramel so that each side is coated well. Let cook for 5 minutes.

Prepare a sheet of parchement paper and pour almond mixture over top, making sure that the almonds are not touching each other. You can also seperate them a little with a spoon, but it must be done before they cool. Set aside and let cool for at least 20 minutes.

In a jar, add all the salad dressing ingredients and shake well to combine. It should be quite vinegar-y, but that is ok, since the almonds will be very sweet.

In a large salad bowl combine the lettuce/greens and sliced strawberries.

Pour dressing over top, and finally add the caramelized almonds.

Toss salad and serve immediately.

Enjoy!