Sicilian couscous salad
Insalata di cuscus
There are a great many recipes for Sicilian couscous salad. This one with apricots, raisins and mint is a little on the sweet side, but it looks just like sunshine on a plate. The colours remain fresh all year round, and both children and grown-ups love it.
Most of the couscous sold in Western supermarkets is pre-boiled, but make sure to read and follow the instructions on the package if it differs from the preparation described below. It’s a substantial dish that can make it out for a full meal with a piece of roast chicken. If you don’t have couscous, bulgur wheat or barley can be used instead.
Ingredients
250 g coarsely ground couscous
200 ml boiling water
5 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon juice and zest
salt and pepper
100 g dried apricots
2 tbsp raising
2 tbsp pine nuts
4 tbsp chopped parsley
3 tbsp chopped mint
Preparation
Cover the couscous with boiling water, lemon juice and olive oil.
Let it soak for 5 minutes, add salt and pepper and air it with a fork. All the grains should be swollen and tender.
Roast the pine nuts on a dry frying pan.
Chop apricots finely and mix it with the couscous along with raisin, chopped parsley and chopped mint.
Mix with the Sicilian couscous salad with roasted pine nuts just before serving.
If you like the Sicilian couscous salad you might also want to try:
Sicilian couscous salad
Apricots and mint? Sounds delish!
Yes – it appeals to my internal Arab:)
Oh you can see the crossover here from across the Mediterranean, can’t you? Love the look of this – I like sweetness in salads.
Julia
Yes, sometimes the Mediterranean is only a small pond where good ideas can spread over long distances:)
I am sure I will not make it as pretty as pictured… I wish somebody could make it for me :(
Thanks for the recipe, Mette!
That somebody would be the ingredients. With those colours prettiness can’t fail.
Creative combination! We eat a fair amount of couscous but not a combo I’ve tried or would have thought of. Thanks!
I guess it is the kind of creativity that arises, when you put people from different cultures together.
It looks especially delicious with apricots in it – a why didn’t I think of that before kind of idea.
You’re right – some things are so obvious it’s a wonder you haven’t thought about them before.
I will try this Sicilian couscous salad this summer with Sicilian apricots. Thanks a lot.
Let’s hope it’ll be a good apricot year. Last year there were almost no fruit on our trees, while the year before they were loaded.
This sounds great. It reminds me of one I make, but I add a bit of cinnamon too. I’ll have to try yours. And you have inspired me to dig out my recipe. Don’t you just love salads like this for summer? I find them so satisfying – all the different textures and the crunch of the nuts along with the chewiness of the dried fruit. Now you’ve got me going…
I hope all is well with you. I’ve been out of circulation for some time now. A motor vehicle collision, surgery, and recovery have kept me down. And add to that we are now remodeling our home, and I have really not done much cooking and absolutely no writing or photography. It is good to visit your site. Be well.
Hi Adri,
Sorry to hear about your accident. It certainly sounds as if you’ve had your plate full in a very different kind of way. Still it’s great to have you back, and I really hope you’ll share that couscous with cinnamon salad. Sounds tempting.