Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Roasted Pumpkin Isreali Couscous Salad


It's only recent that I noticed larger pearl size couscous on the shelves of specialities delis. I have always been a fan of couscous as they are a great side dish-pairing it with a hearty stew or having it as a salad by itself. As a rule of thumb, I like to have a taste of the ingredient before attempting to try it at home. Especially when there was no written instruction on how to prepare it on the packet!!

Often, we have the luxury of tasting it in restaurants and cafe- which often leads me to experiment similar concepts in the humble home kitchen. This helps me to understand how the ingredient should be prepared, and also whether or not we will like it. No point wasting AU$7 on a packet if we are not happy with it. Hubby often joked that he gets a bang in his buck- not just for the meal in a restaurant but it is often my creativity zone when it comes to thinking of what to cook for meals.

Unfortunately, Isreali Couscous is still not very common in eateries yet. No chance to try this interesting ingredient. Hrmph.

Surprise surprise. In a recent picnic with our new french friends, they brought...... a isreali couscous salad!!! Oh how happy I was. Having a chat with her, she told me that all we needed to do was to cook Isreali couscous in a pot of boiling water as we would do with pasta. Easy done!


I love the texture of this pearl couscous and am amazed by how versatile it is. So in a recently bbq gathering, I brought a roasted pumpkin Isreali Couscous salad. I was greeted by the same reaction by our friends "What's this?", "are they little bubble tea bubbles?", "pasta?"

But they agreed that it is a light, fulfilling and healthy dish!


Roasted Pumpkin Isreali Couscous Salad (Made enough to serve 10)
250 grams of Isreali Couscous
around 1 ltre of water
pinch of salt

1kg of butternut pumpkin peeled and chopped
drizzle of honey
4 tomatoes chopped
1 cucumber chopped

3-4 extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon squeezed
1/4 tsp of honey
salt/pepper

Roast pumpkin with drizzle of honey for around 20 minutes.

Meanwhile boil water with some salt. Cook isreali couscous for around 15 minutes or when it is done. Drained and set aside.

Prepare all vegetables. Make dressing by combining olive oil with lemon, honey, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust accordingly. Toss couscous with all veges.

Photobucket

13 comments:

Kenny Mah said...

It's certainly very visually appealing. I guess size does matter! ;)

Kenny Mah said...

By the way, just noticed the counter/ticker at the bottom of your webpage - it states that it's been 2 years, 2 weeks and 2 days since your wedding day!

A great number! Congrats! :)

Joanne said...

I too love the texture of Israeli couscous! And with pumpkin in the mix...oh lord even better! What a great salad!

lena said...

those couscous looks like chickpeas!sometimes i make simple couscous salads and i think next time i will add in some honey too!

p/s this kennymah is so observant even with his small eyes!

Little Corner of Mine said...

This is definitely a healthy salad!

daphne said...

Kenny- you are sooo observant! thanks for that. LOL

Joanne- i love the texture too!

Lena- it does remind me of chickpeas too!

Ching- Thanks!

Three-Cookies said...

I haven't seen Israeli couscous yet in a restaurant. I wonder why?

Quay Po Cooks said...

daphne, I don't think it is a co-incidence that you and I both posted couscous at the same time. I think great minds think a alike!! LOL! I have never seen any big size couscous before. Now that I know they exist, I will look out for them the next time I am at the supermarket. Your couscous salad looks lip smacking.

Gloria Baker said...

I love cous cous and this look delicious! gloria

Unknown said...

That sounds wonderful I love the addition of pumpkin! It's one of my all-time favorite flavors, so versatile and with the greatest texture :) What a beautiful dish!

Nami | Just One Cookbook said...

Hi Daphne! I love pumpkin dish! But come to think of it, I never roasted it before. What a great way to cook and mix with couscous to make a salad! Israeli ones are little bigger than the one I use. It looks a lot easier to eat. :-) Thank you for sharing such a refreshing salad!

tigerfish said...

Yet to try couscous though been wanting to.

Aimei said...

First look and I thought it was chickpeas! I love pumpkins and this looks great! I just tasted my first couscous a couple of months back and i think i can introduce couscous into my meals in future for my hubby since its a healthy dish!

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