Pasta

Cous Cous Compost Salad (or Cous Cous Salade Compose)

by:
January  4, 2010
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

I make a salad for lunch just about every Sunday. The reason: All those lovely bits and pieces of meat, fish, poultry, cheese, vegetables, pasta, grains, beans, and greens in my refrigerator left over from the previous 6 days. I call this my compost salad (for obvious reasons), but a more elegant appellation is salade compose (with the accent over the final e). I usually dress a savory salad with the vinaigrette I already posted on food52.com. —Leslie_

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 4 cups cooked cous cous
  • 1 cup finely chopped red, yellow, green &/or orange bell peppers
  • 1 cup chickpeas, drained
  • 1 cup leftover grilled or roasted beef, lamb, chicken, fish (salmon and tuna are delicious) shredded, chopped, or minced
  • 1 cup finely shredded/chopped salad greens, such as endive, radicchio, treviso, romaine, Boston bib, etc.
  • 1 hard boiled egg, chopped
  • 1 ripe avocado, diced
  • 4-5 radishes, chopped
  • 2-3 anchovies, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons capers, drained
  • 1 celery stalk, chopped
  • 1 fennel stalk, chopped
  • 1 carrot, chopped
  • 2-3 scallions (green and white parts), minced
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh herbs (chives, dill, parsley, cilantro, tarragon, or other herb to suit the mix)
  • 2 tablespoons small olives (nicoise, picholine, etc.)
  • 2 tablespoons OPTIONAL: sunflower seeds or toasted pine nuts
  • 2 tablespoons OPTIONAL: crumbled goat or feta cheese (do not use if including fish as an ingredient)
Directions
  1. Place all the ingredients except the optional seeds/nuts in a large salad bowl, toss to incorporate all the elements, dress with vinaigrette, toss again (sprinkle with seeds/nuts if desired) and serve.
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1 Review

Leslie_
Leslie_ January 4, 2010
Feel free to use your own leftovers in any combination that appeals to you. If I have leftover sauteed zucchini or roasted cauliflower, or grilled red onion, or (in summer) shucked kernels or corn or fresh peas, I'll add one or more of them to the salad mix. Anything goes, so have fun!