Couscous Citrus Salad

The other day I told my kids I was making Couscous Citrus Salad and they thought it made a great tongue twister.  Especially if you say "Summer Couscous Citrus Salad"  five times fast.  Go ahead.  Try it.  And then  get the ingredients for this light and refreshing salad.  It is super quick and you can adjust the ingredients to your liking.  I personally think it's really good to eat the left overs the next morning with yogurt for breakfast. I served it with some whipped cream to make it a dessert that's actually good for you.

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by: Jen

Ingredients:

1 c orange juice + water
2 c couscous
1 20 oz can pineapple, drained into cup
2 11 oz cans mandarin oranges, drained in to cup with pineapple juice
(yes, I know there is only one in the picture, but trust me, you want two)
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
pint strawberries, washed and sliced
1-2 c shredded coconut (forgot to put it in the picture)


Optional:
zest of lime
kiwi, grapes
finely chopped fresh mint
cream, yogurt

Directions:
Combine orange juice, juices from fruits plus enough water to make 2 cups.  Bring liquids to a boil.  Once you have gotten a boil, remove from heat and add the couscous.  You should be able to find couscous in the same aisle as the rice in your grocery store.  They'll probably be right next to each other.  Just make sure you get plain couscous and not the flavored stuff.

Stir the couscous with a fork and add the zests.

 Mix in the zests and cover with a lid for 5 minutes.  During those 5 minutes all the liquid will be absorbed.  Also, during that time wash and slice any fruit that you are using.  After 5 minutes, fluff the couscous with a fork in order to get it all separated and not have chunks (yes, a technical cooking term, lol) of couscous.

 Add your fruits.  (I actually saved the strawberries for last so I could more gently fold them in.)

 Stir in your coconut.  The more coconut, the more sweeter, so you can be the judge of how much you want.

 It will still be warm at this point, but it will cool down quickly.  Serve as is or serve with cream, or with yogurt and almond slices.  It's completely versatile.  I think this would work with rice as well, but you would have to use twice as much liquid as rice.  (ie 4 cups to 2 cups rice).  Maybe I'll have to try that out.