{"id":11717,"date":"2018-03-27T07:30:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-27T14:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/?p=11717"},"modified":"2020-07-12T15:08:09","modified_gmt":"2020-07-12T22:08:09","slug":"gourmet-garden-couscous-with-greens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/gourmet-garden-couscous-with-greens\/","title":{"rendered":"Pearl Couscous with Greens, Cranberries and Pine Nuts"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n Bored with potato or pasta salads? Why not try a grain bowl recipe for a change of pace! I guarantee this flavorful couscous grain salad is a delight for the eyes and your palate and will have your friends and family begging for the recipe!<\/p>\n Jump to Recipe<\/a><\/p>\n In the past few weeks, I’ve made it three times: once just for the two of us, then for a casual dinner party where I was cooking for some of Don’s colleagues, and again for our visiting daughter, SIL, and darling grandbaby! Yep, we’re officially grammy and pappy or whatever we will be called, the little cherub is all smiles and jibberish at this point \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n Cuteness aside, this salad comes together so quickly and has a wonderful balance of flavors and texture: a little sweet and a little savory\u2014pleasantly chewy couscous, bright flavors of lemon and cranberries, crunchy nuggets of gai lan (Chinese broccoli), and pine nuts. Instead of fresh cilantro and parsley, I used the next best thing to fresh herbs – Gourmet Garden organic herb paste<\/a>.<\/p>\n I was first introduced to this wonderful concept at Camp Blogaway<\/a>, where Gourmet Garden had all of us cooks and bloggers doing what we love doing most – creating and playing with food. It was a fun hands-on demo where we squirted, mixed, and then taste-tested our own crudit\u00e9 dips.<\/p>\n Ideally, I prefer to use fresh herbs but when I buy fresh packages or bunches I inevitably find myself throwing some away a week later. Since I no longer have my kitchen garden, and my potted herbs were drowned in the rain, the Gourmet Garden herbs<\/a> have come to the rescue when I’m too busy to run to the store. Plus, I don’t feel guilty about wasting – their tubes of herbs last up to 3 months in the fridge.<\/p>\n I raved about gai la<\/em>n in my Double Duty Dinners: Asian Short Ribs<\/a> post where I included it in both the Short Rib Stew and the Asian Noodle Soup with Beef, Tofu and Greens. The 50 Best Plants on the Planet<\/em> cookbook states that it’s understandable why gai lan<\/em> is one of the most popular vegetables at Asian restaurants around the globe. It has an appealing crunch and a flavor profile that can be addictive (I am). The stalk, leaves, and the clusters of tightly packed buds have a delectable balance of sweet and peppery flavors. The taste is somewhat reminiscent of rapini, but the bitterness is more subdued by its sweetness. Thank you to Melissa’s Produce<\/a> and Cathy Thomas<\/a> for this wonderful compilation of recipes and information on the 50 most nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables, no kitchen should be without it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nGourmet Garden Herb Pastes to the Rescue!<\/h2>\n
What is Gai Lan?<\/h2>\n
Pearl Couscous with Greens, Cranberries, and Pine Nuts<\/h2>\n