Couscous Salad with Currants & Pinenuts

With 101 degrees outside today, it is no time to heat up the kitchen with lots of hot dishes for dinner. I love cold sides that can be made ahead and served with a grilled meat. One of my all time favorites is this couscous salad. I got the recipe out of the Los Angeles Times food section back in the 1980's when we were living in Arcadia, CA. It is so refreshing and compliments a variety of meat dishes, or could be part of a vegetarian meal. I traditionally serve it with roasted lamb on Easter, but love it any time of the year. It is a great way to use the parsley or mint in your garden. The orginal recipe called for parsley, but I also like it with all mint or a mixture of the two.

Couscous Salad with Currants and Pinenuts

2/3 currants
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/8 tsp.powdered saffron
1 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 1/2 c. regular couscous
1 1/2 c. celery, diced
1/3 c. green onion, thinly sliced
1/3 c. pinenuts
1/4 c. fresh parsley or mint, minced
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. olive oil
salt and black pepper

1. Plumb currants in warm water to cover for 15 minutes, then drain and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, melt the butter then stir in the saffron and stir over med. heat for 1 minute.

3. Add the stock and bring to a boil.

4. Stir in the couscous, then cover and remove from heat. Let mixture stand 5 minutes.

5. Transfer couscous mixture to a glass bowl, breaking up any lumps with a fork.

6. Add celery, plumped currants, green onions, pinenuts and parsley or mint. Toss to mix well.

7. In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice and cinnamon. Add olive oil slowly in a steady stream, whisking constantly until emulsified.

8. Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Toss and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

This salad may be made 1 day ahead and stored, covered in the refrigerator. If doing this, hold out the pinenuts and add just before serving. Makes 6 servings.