Carrot and Couscous Salad

I decided to make soup for dinner tonight and wanted a vegetable side dish to serve with it. When I made Thai red curry tofu the other day, I cooked the carrots before adding them to the curry by pan frying them in a tiny amount of oil until they were slightly tender. We really liked the texture of them cooked that way, so I decided to use them again in this couscous salad. You could also use oven roasted carrots or other veggies in this.

This is a simple couscous salad with carrots, celery, onion, green onion and dressing. You could use regular couscous for this but I like it with the bigger Israeli couscous. I used whole wheat Israeli couscous. You can cook that kind of couscous like pasta which makes it super easy. You could also use bulgur or rye berries or any other grain. I love all of those. They have such great chewiness that is addicting.

The dressing for this salad is made with sherry vinegar, olive oil, garlic, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. This combo one of my favorites for homemade salad dressing. This recipe makes a great side for any protein, or you could make it a meal by serving on some arugula and adding some feta cheese and chopped almonds.

Carrot and Couscous Salad

Tasty pan fried carrots and celery and onion with Israeli couscous and tangy dressing

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  

For the couscous:

• 1 cup whole wheat israeli couscous
• 2 cups water
• salt and pepper

For the carrots:

• 4 large carrots
• 1 tbsp oil
• salt and pepper

For the dressing:

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 2 tsp sherry vinegar
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper

For the salad:

• 1/2 onion
• 2 ribs celery thinly sliced
• 2 scallions thinly sliced

Instructions

 

Make the couscous:

• Add oil to a sauce pan and fry the couscous for about a minute or two until toasted a bit. Add the 2 cups of boiling water and some salt and pepper. Cover and turn to low and cook for about 8 minutes. Remove the top and taste for tenderness. If it is still not fully tender, allow to cook with the lid off, testing every minute or two until done. When done pour into a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water to cool down. Drain well and place in a bowl.

Make the dressing:

• Combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk.

Make the carrots:

• Slice the carrots. Add 1 tbsp of oil to a skillet and heat over medium. Add the carrots and season with salt and pepper. Fry the carrots, flipping from time to time until golden and partly tender. Remove from heat and set aside. Add the sliced onion and fry briefly.

Assemble the salad:

• Combine the couscous, carrot and onion, celery and dressing and toss. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Add the sliced scallions. Store in the fridge until serving.

Keyword Side Dish