Caramelized Lemon Leek Couscous Salad

forever frying my lemons

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Onto the recipe: I am clearly in my fried lemon era (see my last post) and if you’ve never fried your lemons before then this is your sign to do so. This time I fried thin lemon slices until perfectly golden brown and lightly charred and once they cooled they got all crispy and delicious. They were the star addition to this caramelized lemon leek couscous salad, which also included fresh lemon juice and tons of caramelized leeks because I can’t get enough of the lemon-leek combo.

I used pearl couscous here because it’s my favourite: it gets super fluffy and has the most satisfying chew. You can also use regular couscous, farro, quinoa (or another grain of your choice) and if you wanted to turn this into a pasta salad, no ones stopping you.

Caramelized Lemon Leek Couscous Salad

serves 4-5 (as a side)

• 3-4 tbsps olive oil

• 1 lemon, divided, half thinly sliced

• 1 leek, whites only, thinly sliced

• big pinch of salt

• black pepper to taste

• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup pinenuts

• 1 cup frozen peas

• large handful of parsley, finely chopped

• 70g feta, crumbled (about 1/3 cup)

Toasted Couscous:

• 1/2 tbsp olive oil

• 1.5 cups (225g) pearl couscous

• 2 cups boiling water

• 1/2 veggie boullion cube

Fried Lemon Dressing:

• juice of the other half of the lemon

• 3 tbsps olive oil

• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• pinch of salt

• black pepper to taste

• fried lemon, chopped

1. Fry the lemons: heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Place the lemon slices in the oil in a single layer and fry until golden-brown and lightly charred, about 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove from the oil and allow them to cool.

   

2. Make the leek mixture: Add the leeks to the lemon infused oil, season with a large pinch of salt and sauté for 15-20 minutes or until soft and caramelized. Then add garlic, pine nuts and black pepper and fry for another 2-3 minutes or until the garlic and pine nuts are fragrant. Add the frozen green peas and stir to defrost them and cool down the mixture. Remove from the heat.

   

3. Prepare the couscous: Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the couscous and stir to coat in the oil and toast for about 2-4 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Stir constantly for even browning and to prevent burning. Turn the heat to low and add the boiling water and veggie boullion cube. Stir and cover, cooking for 12 minutes. Once cooked, remove from heat and fluff with a fork.

   

4. To make the dressing: Chop up the now cooled and crispy fried lemon. To an airtight jar, add lemon juice, olive oil, honey, dijon, salt, pepper and the fried lemon pieces. Cover the jar firmly and shake until the dressing is emulsified.

   

5. Assemble the salad: To a large bowl, add the couscous, the leek mixture, parsley, feta and pour over the lemon dressing. Then to clean out the jar and get all the goodness, add a small splash of water, cover and shake again and pour over the salad. Toss the salad until everything is well combined and serve right away or cool in the fridge and serve later. Enjoy!

I hope you love this one as much as I do. Pearl couscous is such a versatile ingredient and perfect for summer salads like this one, so I’ll definitely be using it more often. I’d love to see your re-creations, DM me a photo or tag me! Enjoy your week, I’ll see you soon.

-Raquel xox

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