Healthy Couscous Salad Recipe

This Happy Healthy Living couscous salad recipe is a very refreshing salad, the combination of couscous, radishes and pine nuts, seasoned with orange juice and cilantro make this a very distinctive side dish that complements roasted or grilled meats poultry or fish.

This festive looking salad is a unique holiday addition to your table. This couscous salad is packed full of vitamin C which we all need a shot of during the holidays too! It can help boost your immune system function as well.

Couscous Salad

Print Recipe

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword healthy salad

Servings 6

Equipment

• Saucepan

Ingredients

• 1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked couscous
• 1 1/4 cups orange juice divided
• 1 tablespoons grated orange peel
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced radishes
• 3/4 cups pine nuts pignolia toasted*
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan, bring chicken stock , water and salt to a boil. Add couscous in a slow and steady steam, stir until liquid has been absorbed. Turn off heat. Cover and let stand 2 minutes or until couscous is tender.
  
• Spread couscous on a 15 x 10 x 1 baking sheet or other large container. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes. Separate clumps of couscous into individual grains by rubbing them between your palms or with a spatula.
  
• When couscous is cool, transfer to a large bowl. Add 1 cup of orange juice, orange peel and cilantro, toss to blend. You can always do this ahead of time and refrigerate up to 1 day.
  
• Before serving add oil, radishes , toasted pine nuts or walnuts, vinegar and remaining 1/4 cup orange juice, mix well. Season with Salt and Pepper and serve immediately.
  

Couscous Salad Tips

* Fresh (and as local as you can) pine nuts should be used. If you are making this salad out of pine nut season be careful where your pine nuts come from. We learned this from experience from a pesto recipe I tried with pine nuts imported from overseas. They left a metallic taste in our mouths for days which is not a pleasant taste.

Walnuts can be substituted if fresh pine nuts are not available. In my images you can see I ended up with walnuts at the time of my posting. I toasted them for approximately 5 minutes at 350 degrees, just long enough to bring out the oils.