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Today’s recipe is very simple to make and combines many flavors I wouldn’t have thought to combine myself. We made a few modifications to this recipe when we tried it this week; I’ll talk about them at the end.

I have had this saved on my computer for quite some time, but all I have is the recipe — no citation. If you know who should be given credit, let me know!

Couscous Surprise Salad

ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup Israeli couscous [also called pearl couscous]
• 2 cups water
• 1-1/2 cups (1/2 lb) frozen shelled edamame
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 a large red onion, minced
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, diced
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the couscous and stir to coat. Toast for a few minutes, stirring constantly. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer about 12 minutes, until the couscous is soft and most of the water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, steam the frozen edamame by microwaving in a bowl wrapped with plastic wrap for 2-4 minutes. Be careful, the plastic wrap and steam will be hot.

In a large salad bowl, stir together the couscous, steamed edamame, red pepper, cilantro, onion, apricots, cranberries, curry powder, salt, and lemon juice. Let chill for an hour to let the flavors combine.

I don’t like bell peppers, so we left that out. We also left out the apricot, but in hindsight, adding some dried pineapple in its place would have been quite tasty. To my taste, and with the ingredients as we used them, it had too much curry powder. The next time we try this, it will definitely have less curry powder. But if we used all of the ingredients, the amount might have been good — peppers have a fairly strong taste.

Also, we stuck it in the fridge and ate it later, cold. Comparing the hot sample to the cold, it was much better cold.

Today’s recipe, from the July 2005 edition of Cooking Light, in its original form (as printed below) is not vegetarian. We made some modifications to it to make it veggie; it ended up being fairly different from the original recipe but oh so tasty! I’ll explain what we changed after the recipe.

Steak, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Mozzarella Couscous Salad

Gently heating the garlic in olive oil infuses the oil with flavor and cooks the garlic enough to keep the dressing mellow.

ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2-1/2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil (about 1 ounce)
• 1-1/2 cups chopped Basic Grilled Flank Steak (about 6 ounces)
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) cubed part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped, drained bottle-roasted red bell peppers
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

directions

1. Combine olive oil and garlic in a small, non-stick skillet; cook over medium-low heat 2 minutes or just until fragrant. Remove from heat; set aside.
2. Bring 2-1/2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add couscous and sun-dried tomatoes; reduce heat to medium, and cook 5 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat; fluff with a fork. Spoon couscous into a large bowl. Add Basic Grilled Flank Steak, cubed mozzarella cheese, roasted red bell peppers, and chopped fresh basil; toss well to combine.
3. Combine garlic mixture, vinegar, salt, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle dressing over couscous mixture; toss gently to coat. Cover and chill. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup).

Basic Grilled Flank Steak is another recipe in the magazine which is why it’s capitalized; I’ve never had this recipe with steak.

Modifications we make:

• vegetarian chicken strips instead of steak
• no red bell peppers (I don’t like them)
• shredded mozzarella instead of cubed (so that it melts)
• and we eat it warm