July-- curried couscous

[Kelli Kerrigan]

I made the curried couscous salad from the July issue this weekend. I thought it was wonderful! The cranberries made it different from my typical couscous salad. I took it to a friends house on Sunday and they loved it too! I will be making this for my CL Supper group next month........

[SQ]

Thanks for the review, Kelli! Last night I was going to make either that couscous or the Orzo w/Corn, Tomato and Basil. We had the orzo (which was wonderful) b/c I needed something mellow to go w/the Thai Chicken (6/01). However, tonight I plan to make the couscous, so thanks so much for the review!

[LGBurns]

Kelli, you're on a one-woman crusade to save the reputation of the July issue. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif Thanks so much for this review and the Coconut Tapioca Pudding. As I'm giving the July issue more time, I'm finding more and more interesting things to try.

[Grace]

YEAH Kelli!! As part of Kelli's supper club, I sure am looking forward to next month's meeting!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

I may not be able to wait on the Tapioca Puddiing, however, particularly with apricots in season right now!

And I'm glad it's inspiring everyone to look at July's issue again. I was one of the ones who thought it was a great issue, and was disappointed to see everyone so unhappy with it. This board has inspired me to think "out of the box" in a big way, and I hope it inspires some of the rest of you too.

There's always someone in our supper club who makes a dish I would NEVER have chosen to make in a million years, and inevitably, it turns out to be one of the ones I like best! Now I look forward to the "weird" dish each month.

[Tina_B]

I plan on making the curried couscous salad for a BBQ this week and I am not particularly fond of peas. Any ideas on a substitution?

[Kelli Kerrigan]

Something green would be nice to use instead of the peas....the color combo is really nice. I'd use maybe some broccoli or chinese pea pods or green beans.

[Beth]

Originally posted by Grace:
YEAH Kelli!! As part of Kelli's supper club, I sure am looking forward to next month's meeting!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

And I'm glad it's inspiring everyone to look at July's issue again. I was one of the ones who thought it was a great issue, and was disappointed to see everyone so unhappy with it. This board has inspired me to think "out of the box" in a big way, and I hope it inspires some of the rest of you too.

There's always someone in our supper club who makes a dish I would NEVER have chosen to make in a million years, and inevitably, it turns out to be one of the ones I like best! Now I look forward to the "weird" dish each month.

Just wanted to throw in a ditto on both of those thoughts. I've already posted twice about the Split Pea-Garlic dip.

The two salads above were ones I've thought about trying. I'll definitley try the Orzo, and I'll probably try the couscous.

[SQ]

Made the couscous last night w/whole wheat couscous. It was very good (w/extra curry added). But we liked the orzo better. I think the couscous could use something else w/it... maybe choppped grape tomatoes??

[Peggy]

We had this last week and thought it was wonderful. The curry flavor was very mild so my daughter did not complain about the seasoning. If you like curry, you might want to add more for a more intense curry flavor. Loved the dried cranberries in the recipe. Delicious!!

Peggy

[misstapioca]

this salad is just fantastic. I loved all the different flavors going on with it. The crunch of the chick peas, the chewiness/sweetness of the dried cranberries, and the fresh basil and garlic! This recipe does make alot though.

[katygirl]

I think this recipe sounds great. I love couscous, cranberries and chickpeas but I am not really a curry fan. I would hate to pass on the whole recipe just because of one spice. Do you think I could substitute another spice??


Thanks!!

[Peggy]

katygirl,

The curry flavor is extremely mild. My daughter usually won't eat anyting with curry in it and she really liked it just as written. Maybe you could just leave it out altogether....?

Peggy

[Kelli Kerrigan]

Katygirl,
I think maybe just adding alittle cumin would be nice. Maybe adding alittle fresh lemon basil would be a nice addition. I do think you could make this recipe without the curry and it would come out ok.

[Grace]

Can you say YUM?!! I made this for dinner tonight (sorry Kelli! I just couldn't wait!), and I loved it. I left out the garbanzos, and I probably will again. Not crazy about garbanzos unless they're pureed into a dip or something. But I will DEFINITELY make this salad again!

Now I just gotta get to TJ's to stock up on a whole bunch of boxes of whole wheat couscous!!

[suziking]

Has anyone found the whole wheat couscous at a place other than TJ's? I looked at our City Market and couldn't find it.T sounds yummi!

[Beth]

Suzi, I found it in my regular grocery store, but I had to go to their health foods section. There I also found Kashi Go Lean Crunch. I'm afraid I'm hooked on that too now.

[suziking]

Beth -

What brand is selling the wheat couscous? And what is Kashi Go Lean Crunch - sounds yummi.

My dh and I are tring to find alternatives to always eating white rice and white pasta, etc.

Thanks!!!! suzi

[smpv]

This sounds great. Would someone mind posting the recipe.

Thanks.

Pat

[JackieO]

Just bumping up this old thread because the recipe was discussed elsewhere yesterday....this is a GREAT summer salad. I made it last night for today's lunch -- was a little worried about it after I put it all together. I didn't think the dressing had much zing and I never like to put raw onions in a salad. I didn't need to worry -- the flavors came together nicely and the onions were not strong at all.

Here's the recipe:

Curried Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries
Salad:
1-1/2 C. uncooked couscous (about 1 20-oz box)
1 C dried cranberries (about 4 ozs) (I used orange-flavored Craisins)
1 C. frozen green peas, thawed
1/2 tsp. curry powder
2 C. boiling water
1/4 c. thinly sliced green onions
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1 (15-oz) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

Dressing:
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. grated orange rind
2 Tbsp. water
1-1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. thawed orange juice concentrate
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed

1) To prepare salad, combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Pour 2 cups boiling water over the couscous mixture; cover and let stand 5 minutes. FLuff with a fork; cool. Stir in onions, basil and chickpeas.
2) To prepare dressing, combine lemon juice and the remaining ingredients in a jar; cover tightly, and shake vigorously. Pour over couscous mixture, and toss well to combine. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Yield: 8 servings, (1 cup).

257 calories; 3.8 g fat; 8.7 g protein; 47.9 g carb; 4.1 g fiber; 0 mg chol; 2.1 mg iron; 243 mg sodium; 31 mg calc.

[suziking]

JackieO -

Thanks for bumping this up! It's amazing because I was just looking for a summer salad recipe and here one is! Also - I now love whole wheat couscous and found it thanks to this thread and also - I love Kashi Go Lean Crunch too - thanks to this thread! So funny how things we learn are so quickily assimilated into our lives and we forget where we learned about them!

THANKS!

Suzi

[Julia1Pin]

Another GREAT curried couscous is the one in the Barefoot Contessa cookbok. It doesn't have as many veggies but it does have the dried fruit in it. I don't have the recipe in front of me, but maybe someone with Mastercook.....