This giant couscous salad is packed full of flavour, with hints of lemon and mint and topped off with some feta and red onion. Roasted butternut squash adds its distinctive sweetness to it and all of this is topped up with some tangy pomegranate molasses. Creme fraiche is stirred through the giant couscous to give it a wonderfully silky smooth texture.
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What is giant couscous?
Giant couscous is also known as pearl couscous or Israeli couscous, it is similar to your regular couscous, just bigger! Personally i much prefer giant couscous, it has a much more enjoyable texture and feels much more satisfying to eat compared to the smaller grainy stuff. It is a type of pasta, made with wheat semolina and water and is toasted (rather than dried). It has a wonderful density to it and you can pair it with a tonne of different flavours.
Giant couscous salad is perfect for meal prep!
I made extra of the giant couscous salad to have for lunches throughout the week, you absolutely can eat this as a cold salad on its own and it takes no time at all to put together. I decided to serve it as a main meal with a lamb neck fillet, as it has bold flavour that can stand up to the couscous base, and the pomegranate molasses works so well with it. Pomegranate molasses is a bit of a new product for me, I've only had it a couple of times, mainly on salads, but it lends itself perfectly to this dish.
Where can I buy giant couscous?
Back in the UK, I could get my hands on giant couscous pretty easily in most superstores and Merchant Gourmet do an awesome range. I've also tracked some down for my readers across the Atlantic - the links below are affiliate links, which mean I receive a small percentage of sales at no extra cost to you. If you don't already have pomegranate molasses in your pantry, I suggest you get some RIGHT NOW! I'm so addicted to this stuff!
Even if I do say it myself, this giant couscous salad is an awesome dish! Mr D has put it in the top five of Slow The Cook Down dishes...and he's quite the discerning tester! Packed full of bold flavours, a little bit of goodness and a little bit of naughtiness, this is a great plate of food to get your new year off to a good start!
If you like this dish, then do check out my Stuffed Aubergine with Lamb and Pomegranate which has similar flavour profiles.
Giant Couscous Salad with Feta, squash and Lamb
Ingredients
- 1 Butternut Squash peeled, de-seeded and diced
- ⅔ cup creme fraiche (150ml)
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- ½ red chilli
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
- ½ red onion finely diced
- ¾ cup giant couscous (150g)
- 2 ¼ cups stock - chicken or vegetable 2 ¼ cups (500ml)
- 3.5 ounces feta diced (100g)
- 2 lamb neck fillets optional
- A small amount of pomegranate molasses
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 200ºc / 400ºf
- Toss the butternut squash in a little olive oil and salt and pepper and put on to a roasting tray. Put in the oven for around 30minutes to roast, so it is soften to eat, but still has a bite.
- In a bowl, mix the creme fraiche, juice and zest of the lemon, chilli, parsley, mint and red onion. Combine and leave to one side.
- Bring the stock to the boil and add the cous cous. Stir occasionally and after about 8 minutes, the stock will have been absorbed and the cous cous soft. Drain the cous cous through a fine sieve.
- Heat a frying pan over a high heat.
- Season the lamb fillets with salt and pepper and rub in a little oil. Sear them in the pan. A few minutes on each side until they start to colour. Leave to rest.
- Put the drained cous cous into a small pan and stir in the creme fraiche and add the feta. Once the butternut squash is done, stir that in too. put a lid on the pan to keep warm.
- Turn the oven down to 180º.
- Season the lamb fillets and put tin the oven for around 10 minutes until cooked and then let them rest.
- Spoon the cous cous in to the centre of a plate. Slice the lamb and place on top. Drizzle of some pomegranate molasses and serve.
Tiffany Alexandria says
That salad looks fantastic!!! I"ve never tried giant cous cous, I'll have to go look for it at our food co-op!
Slow The Cook Down says
Thank you Tiffany! I love giant couscous, I prefer the texture much more than the standard variety
michele says
The salad was fantastic and the pomegranate molasses made me literally want to lick the plate to get every last bite! Definitely making this a lot ! We LOVEd it!
Slow The Cook Down says
Ah thank you Michelle! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Marlee says
This is everything I could ever want in a dinner! Beautiful job Betty!
Slow The Cook Down says
Thank you so much!!
amandasettle says
I can't get giant cous cous here but love the idea, have you ever tried doing quinoa in the slow cooker I wonder if that would work as a substitue? Thanks
Slow The Cook Down says
Hi Amanda, thanks for visiting! I think quinoa would definitely work as the flavour won't over power the other ingredients. You could even change the profile slightly and use a heavier pulse like lentils. Let me know how you get on!