Jonathan of Eat Right at Home included this easy couscous salad in the Mariquita newsletter last week. We had it for dinner tonight, along with hummus and pita, sauteed chard and roasted beets. The most interesting part of the recipe for me was the vinegar syrup used to flavor the salad. It would be fun to experiment with other vinegars and flavorings to create different salad profiles.
Israeli Couscous with Apples, Fennel and Orange
Original recipe from Chef Jonathan Miller of Eat Right at Home
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 ½ TBS salt
- 1 whole clove
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
- 1 cup Israeli couscous
- olive oil
- 1 large or two small apples, cut into small dice
- 1 large or two small fennel, cored and finely diced
- 1 orange, peeled and sectioned
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- Put the water, vinegar, sugar, salt, clove, mustard seeds, pepper, ginger, and jalapeno in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar and salt dissolve. Continue to boil until the mixture is reduced to ½ cup. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Remove the clove.
- Cook the couscous according to the package instructions. Remove from the pot and immediately toss with a very small amount of olive oil to keep from clumping together. Allow to cool.
- Combine the apples, fennel, orange, and chopped parsley in a bowl. Gently toss with a few tablespoons olive oil. Add the cooled couscous and gently toss again.
- Begin to add the reduced spiced vinegar a little at a time, stirring so everything gets coated. Keep tasting as you add to achieve the flavor you desire. Use as much of, or as little of the dressing you like. Serve at room temperature
Preparation time: 25 minute(s)
Cooking time: 12 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
Copyright © 2011 Good Fud Media.
Recipe by Gudrun Enger.
Microformatting by hRecipe.
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