Chickpea Couscous Salad:

Vegan and Vegetarian

This recipe emerged from necessity.  I was 19, broke, a vegan, and in college.  I needed something cheap, quick, healthy, and abundant.  This recipe has become a staple of mine and I still eat it throughout the week many times.  It has staying power.  It’s easy to make and yields a lot of food.  I usually like to make this on Sunday night in preparation for the week.

Servings: 4

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup of Couscous (I like to get my couscous from the Skokie Pita Inn Store because it’s sold in bulk and much cheaper than getting it from Jewel)
• 1 can of Garbanzo Beans – drained
• 1/2 c of Olive Oil for the dressing
• 2 tbsp of olive oil or soy butter for the couscous
• 2 tbsp of soy or Tamari sauce
• 2 tbsp of white wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp of dijon mustard (I prefer Grey Poupon)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic finely chopped depending on how much you like garlic (I am a big garlic lover so the more the merrier)
• 1 chopped green onion

• 8 green olives or kalamata olives chopped up in half
• Spices: I like to eyeball these and add in some more throughout the cooking process but here is an estimate of the spices I use:

• 

  • 1 tsp of sea salt
  • 1.5 tsp of smoked paprika
  • t tsp of regular paprika
  • 1 tsp of red pepper
  • 1 tsp of cumin
  • 1 tsp of black pepper
  • 1.5 tsp of Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp of rosemary

Directions: 

• Follow the couscous recipe directions – typically it’s one cup of water with a little salt and 2 tbsp of olive oil or soy butter.  Then boil the water, add in a cup of couscous, stir it in, put a lid on it, and take it off the stove.  Keep it standing for 5 minutes, then stir it and fluff it up.

• While the couscous is being made, drain the garbanzo beans in a strainer.
• In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, soy sauce, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, spices, green onions, and garlic.  Mix until it is smooth and everything is distributed evenly.
• Pour the garbanzo beans in the bowl and stir it in with the dressing mixture.

• Add in the couscous slowly, gradually stir it in making sure it gets stirred into the dressing.  The couscous should be somewhat moistened by the dressing.  If it’s dry, then add in more olive oil and dijon.
• Add in the kalamata olives and sprinkle a little paprika on top.
• You can serve it immediately or chill it in the fridge.  Bon appetit!