The 102nd Simple Salad of the Season
Last week Mark Bittman served up "101 Simple Salads for the Season", another of his extraordinary lists to appear in the food section of the New York Times. My longtime favorite salad appeared in an article in Self Magazine, July 1985, written by Rozanne Gold.
Couscous with Chicken, Almonds and Currants is from her list of recipes that boasts "grains instead of greens," a rather novel concept in the '80s. Whenever I serve it, people ask me for the recipe. I vary the ingredients quite a bit, and you should too.
I never put the orange sections in the salad. I think it would make it too sweet for my taste. Sometimes I leave out the currants too, especially if I'm watching my sugar intake. My family isn't crazy about nuts in their salad, so I drop the almonds, though if you like nuts you might try pecans as an alternative. If you have any leftover chicken in the fridge, use that instead of buying and poaching chicken breasts. Leave out the chicken altogether to make the meal vegetarian. The real key to this salad is the dressing, which I don't mess with. It's perfect just the way it is.
Rozanne Gold's Couscous with chicken, Almonds and Currants
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 10-3/4 ounce can chicken broth
3/4 cup quick-cooking couscous
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup currants or raisins
1 large orange, peeled and sectioned
3-4 scallions, finely chopped
8 ounces plain low-fat yogurt
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Place chicken in skillet with broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook 10-15 minutes, or until done. Cool in broth and cut into strips.
2. Drain off broth and pour into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, add couscous and cook 5 minutes. Transfer to a colander and cool to room temperature.
3. Combine chicken and couscous in a large bowl. Stir in chickpeas, almonds, currants, orange sections and scallions; set aside.
4. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl, mix well and pour over couscous mixture. Toss and garnish with watercress sprigs if desired.
--Tracy Schneider
joeindc44 on July 27, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Is this line correct?
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) drained and rinsed
a can of what?
josh on July 27, 2009 at 02:08 PM
Sorry, but that does not qualify as a simple salad... 16 ingredients? It may be good, but it wouldn't make Bittman's list unless you can describe it in two sentences.
Tracy Schneider on July 27, 2009 at 07:08 PM
So sorry, joeindc44! It's a drained and rinsed can of chickpeas. But if you don't like chickpeas, leave them out.
You're right, Josh, it wouldn't make Bittman's list of simple salads. But the recipe is simply delicious!
b7ral7nen on July 28, 2009 at 04:07 PM
Wonderful recipe
Thank you
dvds on September 29, 2009 at 02:41 AM
This is great chicken salad. It's simple, but with lots of flavor. I make it all the time when it's too hot to cook. I just bake the chicken or boil it in broth, then dice it up. I've made it with a variety of different nuts - pecans, walnuts - and low-fat mayonnaise. It always tastes wonderful! I highly suggest including the lemon juice, it adds a great subtle flavor.