Pearl couscous salad: A warm side dish to delight everyone

Bring some vibrant colours to your table with this pearl couscous salad. This versatile dish is delicious whether you enjoy it warm as a light meal or cold as a summery salad. When you feel you want to have a break from eating meat, this dish will do perfectly.

Pearl couscous salad is also a great option to prepare if you follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. The chickpeas and couscous add loads of substance to the meal making you feel full and satisfied without that heavy feeling.

Variations to our pearl couscous salad

The beauty of preparing salads is that you can mix and match different veggies according to your taste and liking. It is certainly no different with this recipe. Some variation ideas are to fry some mushrooms for some added meatiness to the dish. You can also experiment with a variety of nuts if you are not in the mood for almond nuts. Love avocado? If you are one of those people who can eat avo with everything, then this is another great opportunity to enjoy avo once again.

Next time you crave something healthy, look no further than this delightful recipe.

Pearl couscous salad recipe

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Marele van Zyl Course: SidesCuisine: GlobalDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

5

minutes

Total time

20

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup 1 (200 g) uncooked pearl couscous

• 2 tsp 2 (10 mL) olive oil

• 2 cups 2 (328 g) cooked chickpeas

• 2 cups 2 cherry tomato, quartered

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp ground black pepper

• ½ cucumber, sliced into half-moons

• ¼ cup (34 g) sliced black olives

• 3 Tbsp 3 (17 g) fresh mint leaves, chopped

• 2 Tbsp 2 (3 g) fresh basil, chopped

• 2 Tbsp 2 (2 g) fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

• ¼ cup (32 g) roasted almonds, chopped (optional)

Method

• Cook the couscous according to the package instructions. When cooked, drain.
• Meanwhile, to a medium pan on medium-high heat, add the oil, chickpeas, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 5 – 7 minutes, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have softened a little bit. Remove from the heat before the tomatoes become too soft.
• In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the dressing.
• To a large bowl, add the drained couscous, tomato and chickpea mixture, cucumber slices, olives, and fresh herbs. Add the dressing, toss to combine, sprinkle over the almonds, and enjoy!

Notes

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @the.south.african on Instagram and hashtag it #recipes

Like this recipe?

Follow us @thesouthafrican on Pinterest

Looking for more tasty recipes to prepare for your family and friends? Just have a look at our recipe page, we have excellent suggestions for you to try.

If you would like to submit a recipe for publication, please complete our recipe form here.