Israeli Couscous Salad with Tahini-Pomegranate Dressing
Israeli couscous, giant couscous or also called “ptitim” in Israel is made of wheat flour and peppercorn sized. It therefore basically is pearl-shaped pasta and can be used in salads, soups and stews.
I really like mixing things up and think it’s a great alternative to rice, quinoa and regular couscous. In this salad, the Israeli couscous is combined with squash, kale, feta and pomegranate seeds and served with a sweet and sour dressing made of tahini, pomegranate molasses and grape sirup.
Ingredients
Serves 2
Preparation time: 30 minutes
200 g Israeli couscous (giant couscous)
300 ml vegetable broth
1 squash
100 g kale
1/2 white onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp olive oil
200 g pomegranate seeds
salt & pepper
For the sauce:
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp grape syrup
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp water
Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Peel 1 squash and cut into 1 cm sized cubes. Place into a mixing bowl.
Peel and mince (or finely cut) 2 garlic cloves and add to the same mixing bowl as squash. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Mix well and spread out on a baking tray. Place tray on middle oven rack and bake for 25 minutes until squash is tender.
In the meantime, bring 300 ml vegetable broth to the boil, add 200 g Israeli couscous and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes., then set aside.
Finely cut 1/2 white onion and remove stems of 100 g kale. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil In a frying pan and add onion and kale. Cook for 5-8 minutes until kale is tender.
In a large salad or mixing bowl combine all vegetables, 100 g pomegranate seeds and crumble in 100 g feta cheese.
Mix all ingredients for the dressing. You can either serve it on the side or mix it under before serving.
Enjoy!