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This pearled couscous salad is light, fresh, and packed with texture. It’s a simple mix of pantry staples and fresh vegetables, and it comes together super fast. I love serving this as a warm side or even room-temperature —it’s flexible and works well with fish dishes, grilled meats, or even on its own.
Chef Tips:
- You want to use pearled couscous, not the smaller Israeli couscous. If you can’t easily find pearled couscous, feel free to substitute a small shaped pasta like elbow or orzo.
- If you’re making this ahead of time, I rinse the couscous to stop the cooking and so it doesn’t get mushy.
- This recipe is simple and designed to showcase the flavor profile of the fresh vegetables, and I find that it pairs well with many other dishes. Feel free to add your own flavor boost to this salad with some extra minced garlic or chili flakes.
- Taste the final product and don’t be afraid to add more salt to taste. Once you add enough salt, the flavors will come out and this salad will be delicious.
Variations
- You can vary the vegetables – instead of corn and kale, I’ve also done:
- Dino kale and asparagus
- Savoy cabbage – on the photo on the right, I added the cooked couscous into the pan with the cabbage. It’s less of a salad since the couscous also gets a bit charred, but still very delicious and is a great summer side. This can be served room temperature or cold.
- Broccolini and savoy cabbage
What this recipe goes well with:
Recipe
Pearled Couscous Salad
This Pearled Couscous Salad is light, savory, and packed with texture. It’s a simple mix of pantry staples and fresh vegetables, and it comes together super fast. I love serving this as a warm side or even room-temperature —it’s flexible and works well with fish dishes, grilled meats, or even on its own.
Ingredients
- 1 ear fresh white or yellow corn, kernels cut off the cob
- 1 bunch dino kale, destemmed and chopped into thin 1/2” pieces
- 1 cup pearled couscous
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 stalks scallions
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water up to a boil. When the water is boiling, add a tablespoon of kosher salt (you’re cooking pasta), and add the couscous. Cook according to package directions, about 8-10 minutes.
- Prep the vegetables for the couscous – thinly slice the scallions, cut the corn off the cob, and destem and chop the kale into 1″ pieces.
- Heat a medium sized pan on medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, then add the corn kernels. Add a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper, and cook for 2 minutes. To the corn, add the sliced scallions and chopped kale and stir everything together. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the kale has softened. Season with a bit more kosher salt and black pepper to taste, and add this to a mixing bowl.
- Once the couscous is finished cooking, drain this and add it to the mixing bowl with the charred corn and kale. Add a tablespoon of olive oil, squeeze of lemon juice, and toss everything together. Give this a taste, and adjust with more olive oil, salt, or pepper as desired.
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