Every bite is a surprise since it is bursting with different tastes! No entrée with meat? No issue. This might be a side dish or the main course. Lovely addition for a luncheon!
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 15 mins |
| Additional Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 40 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 ¾ cups water, divided
- 2 cups uncooked couscous
- ½ cup raisins
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ cups fresh asparagus tips and pieces
- ½ cup thinly sliced green onions
- ⅓ cup shredded carrots
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3 ounces crumbled blue cheese
- ¼ cup sunflower kernels
Instructions
- Bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Slowly pour couscous and raisins into the boiling water while stirring. Place a cover on the saucepan, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the couscous absorbs most of the water, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Remove saucepan from heat and set aside until couscous absorbs remaining water, about 5 minutes more. Fluff couscous with a fork.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute asparagus, green onions, and carrots in hot oil until tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
- Mix vinegar, sugar, curry powder, ginger, and salt together in a large bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved into the vinegar; add the couscous mixture, asparagus mixture, blue cheese, and sunflower kernels. Gently fold the mixture until the kernels are evenly distributed through the mixture.
- You may substitute feta cheese for bleu cheese.
- Cashews can be used in place of sunflower seed kernels.
- Dried cranberries can stand in for raisins.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 395 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 62 g |
| Cholesterol | 11 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Protein | 13 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 508 mg |
| Sugars | 12 g |
| Fat | 11 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Needed more dressing and spices. I topped this with tofu marinated in Jerk seasoning and sautéed.
I made the recipe as written and loved it. I also think it will be a recipe that I can ply with since we are looking for more meatless entree’s. Next time I’ll try feta cheese and kalmata olives. I’ll let you know how it goes.
This was one of the best recipes I’ve tried recently. Made it twice in the last two weeks and plan to make it again! The only changes made were because of not having some of the ingredients – I used 1 box of couscous (about half of what was called for) with 1/3/4 cup water, 1 T powdered ginger instead of fresh, and feta cheese instead of bleu cheese. Since I live alone, I’ve eaten it about 8 times in the last two weeks and STILL want more! Healthy and delicious.