Spanishy Couscous Salad Recipe
Couscous can be bland without the help of some big flavor boosters. Here, a quick dressing of piquillo or pimento peppers is blended up with a little vinegar and smoked paprika. Toss in some salted almonds and briny olives and you have a zingy picnic side dish to go with grilled steak and some sangrĂa.
For the dressing:
- 3/4 cup jarred, roasted, and peeled piquillo or pimento peppers (about 8 ounces), drained
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1 medium garlic clove, peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch granulated sugar
For the salad:
- 3 cups dry couscous
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup roasted, salted whole almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup coarsely chopped green Spanish olives
- 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling (optional)
- Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth; set aside.
For the salad:
- Place the couscous in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish; set aside. Place the water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the water over the couscous and stir once to combine. Cover with plastic wrap or a baking sheet and let stand until the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Uncover and lightly graze a fork over the surface of the couscous layer by layer until no clumps remain. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the dressing, almonds, olives, onion, parsley, and salt and fold everything in with a rubber spatula to combine. Taste and season with pepper as needed. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Drizzle with olive oil just before serving, if desired.

Happy to report back that this is a very delicious recipe. My only changes were to (i) sautee the onions and the cous cous before covering with boiling chicken broth and (ii) add a small wedge of red onion to the dressing before blending. The dressing is especially good. I served the cous cous warm topped with shrimp sauteed with garlic and hot pepper flake in a sherry-cream sauce.
This recipe is really appealing. Thanks for sharing!
I had this with Grilled Sardines. It was yum.