Couscous is very traditional Moroccan food.
Whether or not they ever turn it into a salad I have no idea, but, as hot as it gets there, they should.
I made this to go with a Moroccan Grilled Chicken – that recipe will be next.
As usual, if you want it hotter add hot sauce or use hot paprika.
For me, and hot weather, I love that couscous requires a bare minimum of cooking and kitchen time.
Moroccan Couscous Salad
Total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup (3oz, 90gr) couscous
- 3/4 cup (6oz, 180ml) chicken broth
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 1/2 cups (15oz, 450gr) chickpeas, rinsed, drained
- 1/4 cup Greek olives, pitted, chopped
- 1 tbs parsley, chopped
- 2 tbs mint, chopped
- 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbs salad olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp Dijon-style mustard
Instructions:
- Heat chicken broth to boiling.
- Put couscous in a medium bowl.
- When broth is boiling pour over couscous, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Do not stir it.
- When couscous is done fluff gently with a fork and set aside.
- Fry onion and red pepper in olive oil until tender.
- Add cumin, paprika, and fry for 30 seconds.
- Remove from heat and stir in chickpeas, olives and herbs.
- Put lemon juice, mustard and oil in a bowl large enough to hold the salad and whisk well to combine.
- Add vegetables, couscous and herbs..Stir well to combine and serve.
We had two lovely days in Bologna – and two fabulous dinners.
We were first in Bologna years ago, when we still lived in the U.S. I remember how much we both enjoyed the city, how fantastic the food was and how (relatively) inexpensive it was to eat in very nice restaurants.
Luckily for us that was all still true.
More about the food later – for now a quick glance at the city.
The old center of Bologna is narrow streets and wide sidewalks. The buildings jut over the walkways, covering them.
It offers protection from inclement weather and, in our case, from the sun. It was very hot when we were there with temps around 37C (98F).
There are shops all along the marble walkways, as well as cafes.
The people watching was wonderful. After my first morning coffee I realized that anything that has been in style during the last 30 years was in style again.
Well, accept for big shoulders…. I didn’t see any of those.
And I’m not sure when purple checked suits were in style for men:
I’m also not sure who would be, um, confident enough to wear it now.
On the other hand, one cannot go wrong in the ham and cheese shop.
I would be in serious trouble if I lived near this.
Sometimes we find the best things when we peak into courtyards – like this little guy telling visitors to ‘Shush’.
He was inside a courtyard, in front of a chapel. I think it was, or still is, part of a religious cloister.
I loved Bologna plus its a great spot for day trips…we went by train to Verona and Venice.
kate, we were there years ago and went to Ravenna (known for beautiful mosaics) But the food in Bologna is the best part lol