Excuse me for a moment while I shamelessly toot my own horn.
I’ve shared some pretty good food with you all in the last few months. We’ve seen elaborate dishes like a caramelized fennel pork roulade, decadent gingersnap bread pudding, and painstakingly filled cauliflower ravioli. You must think I always eat like a queen.
Well, I kind of do, but for every over-the-top concoction I share on the website, I make twice as many really easy, simple, big batch meals. As much as I love to cook, I also love not having to cook. When I work late and come home famished, sometimes all I want to do is walk through the front door, straight into the kitchen, and grab a bowl of something that’s all ready to go.
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume you feel this way plenty of the time, too. You want to eat well, you just don’t want to spend a lot of time working in the kitchen after you’ve already put in a full day elsewhere. You don’t want to fuss, you just want to fill your belly, then kick your feet up and relax.
Making a big salad that will hold up well for a few days will let you do all that. This couscous salad is packed with roasted carrots and onions, loaded with fresh mint, and jazzed up with olives and orange zest. It’s supremely satisfying eaten straight out of the fridge on a giant serving spoon at midnight or beneath grilled lamb and eaten at a table like a civilized human.
We’ll take half an hour to put this salad together so we’ll be off the hook for cooking for a couple of days. Grab couscous and almonds from the pantry, carrots, onions, olives, and mint from the refrigerator.
Chop and slice the carrots and onions and pop them in the oven to brown and sweeten. While you’re waiting, cook the couscous, chop the olives, and run a knife through the herbs.
Dress the couscous with yogurt, orange zest, a splash of vinegar, black olives, almonds, and a pinch of red pepper. Add the roasted veggies and herbs and toss.
And there you go–a quick, easy salad that will provide a bunch of effortless late night dinners or lunch box treasures. We’ll save fancy and elaborate for another day.
- 10 medium Carrots, diagonally sliced about ¼ in. thick
- 1 large Red Onion, thinly sliced
- Olive Oil
- 1⅓ c. Couscous
- ¼ c. chopped Oil-Cured Black Olives
- ½ c. sliced Almonds
- ½ c. Plain Greek Yogurt
- zest of 1 Orange
- ½ tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 tsp. White Wine Vinegar
- ½ c. chopped Fresh Mint
- ½ c. chopped Italian Parsley
- Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly coat the carrots and red onions in olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast until the carrots are just tender and the onions are browned in spots, 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the couscous. Bring 2 c. water with a pinch of salt and 1 Tbsp. of olive oil to a boil. Stir in the couscous, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 7 minutes. Fluff with a fork and transfer to a large salad bowl.
- Toss the couscous with the almonds, yogurt, orange zest, red pepper flakes, and vinegar. Add the roasted vegetables and herbs and toss. Season, if necessary, with salt and additional red pepper.
Your salad concoctions are always amazing – I’m sure this one is, too. I really need to transplant some of my mint in your backyard…..
Love, Mom
I love this salad. I have made it a few times and took it as a veggie alternative to a BBQ and everyone loved it. You hit the mark with this one and is already a repeat recipe for my family. Thanks for sharing!
Nice, I’m glad to hear it! Here’s another carrot salad that might be worth checking out if your family gets sick of this one 😉