Just Saying “Couscous” Makes Me Smile
As you keep the recipes coming for the free book giveaway, I’m going to keep sharing everybody’s entries with you.
Our friend Allison - a double blogger with both Find Religion and Reality on Bravo - seems to have psychically known how much I LOVE couscous, because she offered up cold couscous salad that could be presented as a side dish or light and healthy snack.
Like most of us, Allison admits that this recipe likely started out from a cookbook or Food Network show but has become her own over the years with a tweak here and there. She understands vegetarianism and had has such recipes in her repertoire because, as she says: “When I was in college, one of my friends was a vegetarian, so we used to look for fun, delicious meals we could make whenever she came over for dinner.”
Cold Couscous Salad
1 box plain couscous
1 can chickpeas, drained, and rinsed
1 chopped red pepper
1 chopped onion
1 chopped cucumber
1 handful of spinach, chopped
1 handful of crumbled ricotta cheese
1 handful of shredded cheddar cheese
freshly grated garlic
extra virgin olive oil (EVOO!)
lemon juice
salt and pepper
Make couscous according to package directions. Place in large bowl and add EVOO to coat (about two spins around the bowl–couscous should be lightly coated, not swimming in it!). Add juice of one lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix to distribute and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Add all chopped veggies, chickpeas, and cheese to the couscoucs. Grate fresh garlic into the bowl. Stir to mix the ingredients and enjoy!
Thanks, Allison! I can’t wait to try it … I’ll have to think about what I am going to replace the cheese with.
vegetarian, recipe, couscous, salad, find religion, reality on bravo, food network, chickpeas, free book, giveaway, vegan recipe, vegetarianism
July 20th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Thanks for the links! I think that it would be just as good without the cheese. It’s one of those recipes where you can really use whatever you have in your ‘fridge!
July 21st, 2007 at 8:24 am
Hi, Sally! If you want to make this with vegan versions of the cheeses, for the cheddar I recommend using Follow Your Heart Gourmet Cheese Alternative (in the cheddar flavor, natch!) As for the ricotta, here’s the ricotta recipe I use in my vegan lasagna. It tastes uncannily like ricotta, but it’ll make a lot more than a handful so you might want to make a half batch for starters! Or use the leftovers to make a smaller pan of lasagna or some vegan cannoli! Yum!)
1 pound firm tofu
1 pound SILKEN tofu (I use 1 18-oz package extra firm tofu and 1 12-oz package soft silken tofu and it works fine.)
1 TBSP maple syrup (the real stuff, not that brown-colored corn syrup crap!)
1/4 cup soy milk (plain or unsweetened)
1 clove garlic
2 TBSP lemon juice
3 teaspoons basil (fresh whenever possible - about 12 med-large leaves)
2 teaspoons sea salt (or less to taste)
Saying “couscous” makes me smile, too… but saying “baba ganoush” *really* makes me grin!
Thanks for blogging for Farm Sanctuary, one of our favorite organizations! They do great things. Best of luck to you in the Blogathon!
July 21st, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Thanks for the great tip and recipe! I am just beginning to experiment with blending tofu to make vegan yummies so I will have to try this ASAP!
Thanks so much for sponsoring me, and helping out Farm Sanctuary! And I’ll have to let everyone else in on the Blogathon I suppose!
July 21st, 2007 at 11:55 pm
It just dawned on me that I neglected to include instructions for what to DO with all those ingredients! LOL! It’s simple enough… just toss them all in a food processor and blend well.
This recipe looks really good. I might have to try it using quinoa since I’m out of couscous.
You’re very welcome for our sponsorship! It’s our pleasure. We love supporting Farm Sanctuary, and this is an especially fun way to do it!
July 24th, 2007 at 9:30 am
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