Couscous Salad with Tagine Spiced Grilled Vegetables

Moroccan cuisine has one of the most balanced and aromatic flavors amongst world cuisines. Sweet fruits, crunchy salty nuts, grassy olive oil, pungent cheese, heavenly spices and fresh herbs. This salad incorporates all these flavors and comes together very quickly. Another beauty about this kind of salad it can be made with any grain like quinoa, Farro, rice or any thing you please I made this one with whole grain french style couscous. It is also flexible with use of any seasonal fruit. In summer try with stone fruit like apricots or nectarines, spring can be with strawberries and in fall and winter pomegranates and citrus are delicious.

Moroccan Couscous Salad

• 2 cups cooked whole grain French couscous
• 1 small red onion thinly sliced
• 2 Persian or Kirby cucumbers diced
• 1-2 small Japanese long eggplant cut into thick slices
• 1-2 medium zucchini cut into thick slices
• 2 fresh ripe apricots sliced
• 2 tablespoons organic dried cranberries
• 1/4 -1/2 cup toasted salted almonds
• 1 cup diced feta cheese (optional)
• 1 cup pomegranate arils or 4-6 strawberries sliced  depending on season
• Handful of mint, parsley and cilantro mix chopped
• Dressing for the vegetables
• 2 tablespoon cold pressed evoo + more for brushing
• 1 small clove garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger powder or minced ginger
• Juice of 1 ripe lemon or 3 tbsps white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey or pomegranate molasses
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  1/2 tsp smoked hot paprika or sweet depending on your heat preference
•  sea salt and pepper as needed

1. Cook couscous as directed on the package.
2. Keep aside to cool. In a large serving bowl add garlic, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, olive oil, cinnamon, paprika salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork.
3. Brush the sliced veggies with olive oil and grill on a hot pan 4-5 minutes each side till you get grill marks and are tender but not to the point they fall apart. Remove and set aside.
4. In the bowl with dressing add the cooled couscous, sliced onion, cucumber, cranberries and fruit. Toss gently. Next add grilled veggies, nuts, herbs and feta if using . Taste and add salt if needed. Mix very well and serve as a side to a protein or as is!