Curried Chicken and Couscous Salad
Okay, so I have to be honest and dedicate this recipe to both Mendocino Farms and The Missing Lokness. Have you ever visited a restaurant and wished you could re-create their dish? Searched the internet to find recipes and come up with nothing? Well I've definitely done that before, but luckily, thanks to The Missing Lokness, I was able to find a recipe for my favorite Mendocino Farms side salad.
I've done a side-by-side comparison with the actual Mendocino Farms salad and it's not quite the same, but it's still super tasty. I also tweak things a little by making it a tad spicier and adding curried chicken and arugula. Sometimes I even add some chopped hard boiled eggs to give the salad more protein. Instead of eating it as a side salad, I like to eat it as a meal, so putting it on a bed of greens and topping it with protein is a great way to do this.
My husband absolutely loves this recipe and makes me let him sample it every time I make it. The key to this recipe is to let it cool completely before eating it because the flavors need time to marry and get to know each other. I'd say about 2 hours is best. The flavors intensify after you let it sit, so don't go too overboard on the spices if you taste it when it's warm.
Servings: 5-7
Total Time: 3 hours (includes 2 hours of refrigerating time*)
*You may wonder why I've been including the marinating and refrigerating time in the total time for my recipes. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when you find a great recipe and it says it'll take 30 minutes to cook, but then says to marinade for 2 hours. What's worse than thinking you're eating dinner in 30 minutes and then finding out it's going to take 2 more hours? So here you go, it's built into my total time.
Ingredients:
1/2 head of cauliflower
1-2 medium sized carrots
4 cups Israeli couscous, cooked
1 1/2 pounds chicken (I used tenders, but you can use any kind you want)
Greens of your choice - I typically use arugula, but you can use spinach or lettuce too
1 tbs curry powder
1 tbs turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tbs brown sugar
2-3 tbs avocado oil
3/4 cup mayonnaise (or more to taste - I like it light)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions:
I've done a side-by-side comparison with the actual Mendocino Farms salad and it's not quite the same, but it's still super tasty. I also tweak things a little by making it a tad spicier and adding curried chicken and arugula. Sometimes I even add some chopped hard boiled eggs to give the salad more protein. Instead of eating it as a side salad, I like to eat it as a meal, so putting it on a bed of greens and topping it with protein is a great way to do this.
My husband absolutely loves this recipe and makes me let him sample it every time I make it. The key to this recipe is to let it cool completely before eating it because the flavors need time to marry and get to know each other. I'd say about 2 hours is best. The flavors intensify after you let it sit, so don't go too overboard on the spices if you taste it when it's warm.
Servings: 5-7
Total Time: 3 hours (includes 2 hours of refrigerating time*)
*You may wonder why I've been including the marinating and refrigerating time in the total time for my recipes. It's a huge pet peeve of mine when you find a great recipe and it says it'll take 30 minutes to cook, but then says to marinade for 2 hours. What's worse than thinking you're eating dinner in 30 minutes and then finding out it's going to take 2 more hours? So here you go, it's built into my total time.
Ingredients:
1/2 head of cauliflower
1-2 medium sized carrots
4 cups Israeli couscous, cooked
1 1/2 pounds chicken (I used tenders, but you can use any kind you want)
Greens of your choice - I typically use arugula, but you can use spinach or lettuce too
1 tbs curry powder
1 tbs turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tbs brown sugar
2-3 tbs avocado oil
3/4 cup mayonnaise (or more to taste - I like it light)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 450͒ F
- Cook couscous according to instructions.
- While couscous is cooking, chop your cauliflower and carrots into 1/2 inch pieces
- Mix curry powder, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cayenne and paprika in a small bowl. Divide seasoning into 2 and add brown sugar to one of the bowls.
- Coat veggies with 2 tbs avocado oil and the seasoning mix with the brown sugar
- Roast veggies in the oven for 8 minutes, toss and bake another 5 minutes
- Remove veggies from the oven and let cool before placing in an airtight container to refrigerate
- When the couscous is cooked, add to the container with the roasted veggies.
- While the mixture is cooling, coat your chicken with the rest of the seasoning mix, salt & pepper. Cook your chicken through and then cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Add chicken to the veggies and couscous. Refrigerate mixture for at least 30 minutes before adding mayo. Continue to refrigerate for at least 1.5 hours before serving.
Chop your veggies and mix your seasonings. Divide the seasoning in 2 and add brown sugar to 1 bowl.
Coat your veggies with 2 tbs avocado oil and then toss with the bowl of seasoning with the brown sugar.
Roast veggies for 8 minutes, then toss and roast for another 5 minutes.
Now, my Instacart shopper got me rice pilaf and israeli couscous, so I decided that I would just mix the two together!
Coat your chicken with spice mixture and salt and pepper.
Cook your chicken and then chop it into bite-sized pieces.
Once your ingredients are cooled, add 3/4 cups mayonnaise and mix. Continue to refrigerate for at least 1 1/2 hours and then plate it atop your favorite green. I usually use arugula, but this time I opted for romaine lettuce.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
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