Couscous salad: the grain you never boil
Couscous is not a grain but tiny semolina pasta, and one that has already been steamed and dried. Which is why it is never boiled — it is covered with boiling liquid and left. The whole difficulty comes down to two numbers: a one-to-one ratio (as much liquid as couscous by volume) and ten minutes covered. More water gives paste, less leaves hard grains in the middle.
Your own work in that: 25 min.
- Couscous 20 min
- Vegetables 5 min
- Tossing 15 min
Step by step
0 / 5 doneCover the couscous with boiling stock
Tip the couscous into a bowl, stir through two tablespoons of olive oil and the salt, then pour over 350 ml of boiling stock — roughly a one-to-one ratio by volume. Stir once, cover with a plate and leave it alone for 10 minutes.
Ingredients: 250 g couscous · 350 ml vegetable stock · 2 tbsp olive oil · ½ tsp salt
TipOil stirred into dry couscous coats every grain and helps stop it clumping. Added later, to already swollen couscous, it is much harder to spread.
Boiling stock, covered, ten minutes untouchedFluff it with a fork
Lift the plate off and fluff with a fork, lifting the grains from the bottom and breaking up any clumps. Never a spoon — a spoon crushes the grains and welds them into lumps. Spread on a tray and cool 10 minutes.
A fork, not a spoon; lift, don't stirChop the add-ins finely
While the couscous cools, dice the cucumber and onion small, quarter the tomatoes and slice the apricots into strips. Chop the parsley and mint. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Cut everything fine — couscous is very fine itself, and large pieces simply separate from it on the plate.
Ingredients: 400 g tinned chickpeas · 1 pcs cucumber · 250 g cherry tomatoes · 80 g dried apricots · ½ pcs red onion · 1 bunch parsley · 20 pcs fresh mint
Fine, on the scale of the grainMix the spiced dressing
Whisk the oil with the lemon juice, cumin, a pinch of cinnamon, honey, salt and pepper. Cinnamon in a savoury salad sounds odd, but Maghreb cooks often add it to savoury dishes — it brings a warm, faintly sweet aroma.
Ingredients: 4 tbsp olive oil · 1 pcs lemon, juice · 1 tsp ground cumin · ¼ tsp cinnamon · 1 tsp honey · ¾ tsp salt · ½ tsp pepper
Toss and let it stand
Combine the cooled couscous with the vegetables, chickpeas, apricots and all the herbs, pour over the dressing and toss with two spoons. Leave 15 minutes for the couscous to absorb the dressing, and season again before serving.
Ingredients: 400 g tinned chickpeas · 1 pcs cucumber · 250 g cherry tomatoes · 80 g dried apricots · ½ pcs red onion · 1 bunch parsley · 20 pcs fresh mint
A quarter hour and the couscous drinks it in
Before you start
Four days of lunchboxes
It keeps up to four days in the fridge, and the flavours meld over time. The herbs darken after two — add fresh parsley on the day you eat it.
Pearl couscous
The larger pearl couscous (ptitim) is boiled like pasta, 8 minutes in salted water, and does not work with the soaking method. It suits the same salad, only cut the vegetables larger.
As a main course
Add grilled chicken, roasted squash or feta. Couscous is neutral and goes with almost anything — in Morocco it is served with slow-cooked meat, such as lamb, and vegetables.
Dried fruit
Apricots, raisins, dates or cranberries. The sweet element is not decorative: it balances the lemon's acidity and keeps the salad from tasting monotonous.
