No Cook Couscous Salad

Yes you did hear me right this is no cook couscous. If you are like me then you are probably thinking that you can’t eat couscous without cooking it. That is true but in this dish you effectively cook the couscous is lemon juice. It takes a bit longer than regular couscous but trust me when I tell you it is the best couscous you will ever have. I have known many people who cannot stand couscous eat large amounts of this dish.

I would like to claim credit for this dish but I am afraid this is a family hand me down. In fact, around the time I was born my parents went to eat at the house of a friend and had this dish. Their friend who made it was French and she showed my mum how to make it and since then it has been a regular at our house.

The best thing about this salad is that it is so easy to make and as long as you remember to make it in advance then all you need to do is mix it all together and stick it in the fridge until you are ready to eat. Plus it is quite a versatile little salad so you could add some of your favourite leaves to it or any salad ingredients like radishes and carrots or olives might be nice too.

One of the things that concerns me with the recipes I create is how they will affect blood sugar and you might already be aware but couscous is quite high on the GL scale. For that reason I have made this dish to serve 4 and it can then be dished up with some protein that will really fill you up and balance the meal. However be aware that it is really addictive so you might find it hard to stop at such a small portion.

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No Cook Couscous Salad

Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 mins
Resting Time: 2-3 hrs
Total Time: 2-3 hrs

Ingredients

100g/1/2 Cup + 1 1/2 tbs Whole Grain Couscous
1 Stick of Celery, chopped
5cm/2in Cucumber, chopped
1 Large Spring Onion, chopped
7 Tinned Cherry Tomatoes, chopped and with juice
Handful of Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped
Handful of Mint Leaves, chopped<br />
1 Lemon, juice only
2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
1-2 tbs Lime Juice

Instructions

1. Combine all the ingredients apart from the lime juice in a large bowl and mix well. Cover bowl and place in the fridge to “cook” the couscous.

2. After about 1 hour, mix the salad again and return to fridge.

3. After 2-3 hours or when ready to server, mix salad, adjust seasoning as needed and stir in lime juice.

Nutrition

As I mentioned above I have kept the serving quite small to keep the GL down and at this portion size you will get a GL of 12 which means you are find to add a protein to this and still have a meal that is a low GL.