Salad w/ Couscous, Spinach, & Cranberries
This Couscous Salad consists of wilted spinach, cranberries, white wine vinegar, smoked paprika, cloves, allspice, ginger, and pearl couscous. It took me forever to decide if I wanted to make this a cold or a warm salad. I eventually decided to wilt the spinach and serve it hot. Although, you can easily skip sautéing the spinach and chill the couscous.
Equipment
- Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 c. pearl couscous (or couscous of choice)
- 1 c. fresh cranberries (optional, see notes)
- 1 tbsp. ginger fresh, minced
- 1 tbsp. tahini
- 1 tbsp. dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc) or white wine vinegar
- dash smoked paprika
- dash cloves
- dash allspice
- dash salt
- dash pepper
- 2 c. spinach
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger produce and then add the smaller ingredients. Top with the spices. And then add the lentils and water.This cooks the larger vegetables on the bottom, while dispersing the flavor profiles in the middle. Although with some mixing, this really doesn't matter all that much. Everything will eventually cook together!You can either add in the spinach now and have it cooked for a warm salad. Or add it in afterwards for a cold salad.
- Press the cook button on the rice cooker. While lentils aren't rice, it does cook the same and oftentimes better than rice in a rice cooker. It typically takes 30-45 minutes.Alternatively you can simmer on the stove. Add all of the ingredients to a pot, bring uncovered to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Stir occasionally and test often. Turn off heat, add lid, and let sit another 5-10 minutes.
- When the lentils are fully cooked, fluff with a wooden spoon and serve. Do not use a fork or other metal utensil. It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom!
Tips, Tricks, & Notes
- Cranberries are a binding agent. They tend to get spongy when you cook them. You can roast them separately on a baking sheet or, if you can handle uncooked cranberries, just chop them up and toss them in raw. Alternatively, dried craisins are great, especially if you can find them sweetened with apple juice instead of sugar.