I’ve been on a meal prep kick lately, which had me creating easy sides to eat by themselves or combined with proteins or sandwiches. When I pre-make meals, it’s more for the ease of it all vs. dieting. I love how thoughtless the process is. When you’re hungry and in a hurry, you just grab it from the fridge and chow down. Easy-peasy. And it prevents me from eating out, which I love!
My husband is quite the picker eater but surprisingly LOVES curry and Indian food. We’ve both been obsessing over Mendocino Farms curried couscous salad so I set out to make a copycat recipe that we could enjoy at home. The beauty of this recipe is that you can easily add things like dried cranberries to make it festive for the holidays.
WARNING — this salad is super addicting.
CURRIED COUSCOUS SALAD
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil, plus more for veggies
- 1/2 pound Trader Joe’s pearl couscous
- 3 1/3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1/2 tablespoon turmeric
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 head cauliflower
- 1 carrot peeled and chopped
- 1/2 cup mayo or Lemonaise
- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- Juice of a lime (to taste)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a pot, cook the Trader Joe’s couscous according to instructions on the box.
- Preheat over to 450 and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside.
- In a bowl, combine brown sugar, curry powder, turmeric, salt, coriander, cumin, & cayenne pepper. Blend well by stirring.
- In another bowl, toss the chopped carrots with 1 teaspoon olive oil and ¼ of the curry spice blend you just made.
- For the cauliflower, cut or break the florets into super small pieces. Once prepped, toss the florets with 1½ tablespoons olive oil and rest of the spices.
- Transfer the carrots to one side on the prepared baking sheet. Transfer the cauliflower florets to the other side of the baking sheet. Roast in the oven. After 8 minutes, check if the carrots are tender. If they are, transfer them into the bowl of couscous. Return the cauliflower to the oven and roast for another 4 – 6 minutes. Transfer them into the bowl of couscous. Overall, just keep an eye on your veggies and make sure they’re cooked to your liking!
- Toss everything together to mix well. Add mayonnaise, cilantro and lime juice. Taste and adjust with salt and lime juice. You might even need a little more mayo if the salad feels dry. Transfer to an airtight container and chill for at least 1 hour in the fridge. Best serve cold.
- Get creative with the recipe by adding dried cranberries for Thanksgiving!
Sweat Adventures 