Curried Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries

The flavors of this salad meld as it chills. It makes a great portable lunch.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)

Ingredients

• Salad:
• 1 1/2  cups  uncooked couscous (about 1 [10-ounce] box)
• 1  cup  dried cranberries (about 4 ounces)
• 1  cup  frozen green peas, thawed
• 1/2  teaspoon  curry powder
• 2  cups  boiling water
• 1/4  cup  thinly sliced green onions
• 1/4  cup  finely chopped fresh basil
• 1  (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 
  Dressing:
• 1/3  cup  fresh lemon juice
• 1  tablespoon  grated orange rind
• 2  tablespoons  water
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 1  tablespoon  thawed orange juice concentrate
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 4  garlic cloves, crushed

Preparation

To prepare salad, combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Pour 2 cups boiling water over the couscous mixture; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; cool. Stir in onions, basil, and chickpeas.

To prepare dressing, combine lemon juice and the remaining ingredients in a jar; cover tightly, and shake vigorously. Pour over couscous mixture, and toss well to combine. Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

257 (13% from fat)

Fat:

3.8g (sat 0.5g,mono 2.1g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:

8.7g

Carbohydrate:

47.9g

Fiber:

4.1g

Cholesterol:

0.0mg

Iron:

2.1mg

Sodium:

243mg

Calcium:

31mg