Green Couscous

Salads and Dressings

Green Couscous

Chef's Note: A good-looking and even better tasting side salad. It has strong flavor and is extremely healthful but still feels light and comforting. Adding some feta will make it a bit more substantial.

• 1 cup couscous
• ¾ cup boiling water or vegetable stock
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp California Olive Ranch extra-virgin olive oil 
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground cumin

Herb paste:

• 1/3 cup chopped parsley
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp chopped tarragon
• 2 tbsp chopped dill
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
• 6 tbsp California Olive Ranch extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ cup unsalted pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped
• 3 green onions, finely sliced
• 1 fresh green chile, finely sliced
• 1 ¼ cup arugula leaves, chopped

Directions

Step 1: Place the couscous in a large bowl and cover with the boiling water or stock. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave for 10 minutes.

Step 2: Meanwhile, fry the onion in the olive oil on medium until golden and completely soft. Add the salt and cumin and mix well. Leave to cool slightly.

Step 3: To make the herb paste, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Step 4: Add the herb paste to the couscous and mix everything together well with a fork to fluff it up. Now add the cooked onion, the pistachios, green onions, green chile and arugula and gently mix. Serve at room temperature.

Recipe credit: Plenty (Chronicle Books, 2011), by Yotam Ottolenghi

Reprinted with permission from the publisher

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