Couscous Salad with Grilled Vegetables

In the autumn I prefer the salads to be a bit more filling and juicy than in the summertime. This couscous salad with grilled vegetables has become one of our favorites this fall!

Grilled zucchini, eggplant and peppers give a luscious consistence while lemon, leeks and pomegranate adds sweet and sour flavors. Moreover, the cooked vegetables are easier to digest than the raw - so the salad is gentle to the stomach as well.

I have adapted this recipe from Claus Meyers book Salatværksted.

Ingredients (6 servings)

Couscous
200 g whole grain couscous (couscous consists of pre-cooked durum wheat)
1.5 dl of water (0,8 cups)
a pinch of sea salt

Grilled / sauteed vegetables
1 eggplant
1 courgette
2 bell peppers
olive, canola or some other oil for frying
pinch of salt
1 pomegranate (I replaced the sugar from the original recipe with a pomegranate sugar - you can also sweeten the salad with honey, acacia syrup, or even grapes) 

Other ingredients:
1 clove of garlic
1 dl leeks, chopped (0,5 cups)
4 tomatoes or 8 cherry tomatoes, diced
Juice of 1 lemon (and zest - if you want to use the lemon zest, I recommend using organic lemons)
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of fresh herbs to taste (mint, coriander, parsley etc.)

Instructions:

Couscous

• Put the couscous grains in a flat-bottomed bowl, boil water and pour it over the couscous grains. The grains should be covered with water.  Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or a plastic wrap and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. 
• Fluff the couscous with a fork.

Grilled vegetables

• Cut the eggplant and the zucchini lengthwise into slices. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on the slices and let it sit for 20-30 min. 
• Wipe the liquid from the surface of the vegetables liquid with a kitchen towel. 
• Cut the peppers cut into strips. 
• Sauté / grill vegetables on a pan in hot oil.
• It is important that the eggplant cook is sauteed until well cooked, soft and smooth. 
• When the vegetables are slightly cooled, cut them into cubes.

• Chop garlic into pieces. 
• Dice the tomatoes.      
• "Peel" the pomegranate - remove the seeds of a pomegranate.
• Finely chop the herbs. 
• Grate a little lemon zest if you wish, and a squeeze the lemon juice      
• Stir in garlic, tomatoes, herbs, pomegranateseeds, lemon juice and zest together.

• Add the vegetables and stir the remaining ingredients together. Taste,add salt if necessary.

Couscous salad tastes delicious served both warm and cold & keeps for a few days in a refrigerator.

Bon Appetit!