You may have heard of cous cous, but just in case you haven't, I must make sure you do. This is the national dish of Argelia, Morocco and Tunisia, based in the grain wheat semolina, it can be combined with almost anything and makes either a great whole meal or side dish. 

If you visit any northern African country, you will probably see this in every restaurant, it is also typical in the Middle East. The classic way of making it involves parsley, tomato, lettuce/herbs, olive oil and lemon juice and when prepared this way it is called tabbouleh (and there is always a Simpsons GIF to back up everything you say).

For most people used to cooking western grains and dishes, this all sounds very exotic but, as with many an international dish, you can prepare it yourself! It is pretty easy to find, any Whole Foods market should have it, and also nonorganic ones. 

When surfing the web, you can find different ways to prepare it. For me, this one is the fastest and easiest. 

Cous Cous Party

  • Prep Time:10 mins
  • Cook Time:10 mins
  • Total Time:20 mins
  • Servings:4
  • Easy

    Ingredients

  • 1 package cous cous
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 big red onion
  • Spinach or any green leaves you like
  • 2 boiled eggs
  • 2 tomatoes
  • Step 1

    Put the cous cous in a bowl.

    condiment, herb, relish, yeast, cereal, salt, cilantro, cumin
    Marina Wollamnn
  • Step 2

    Chop the red onion and spare some brown/coconut sugar over it, let it rest.

    vegetable, meat, cheese
    Marina Wollamnn
  • Step 3

    Put water in a pan until it boils, then pour over the cous cous, you will see how it starts to absorb, cover the bowl immediately. It should look this way before you cover it.

    cereal, herb, condiment, yeast, relish, flour
    Marina Wollamnn
  • Step 4

    Keep it covered for 7 minutes, the water is absorbed and it should look like this.

    cereal, wheat, yeast
    Marina Wollamnn
  • Step 5

    Chop the vegetables and mix it all in another bowl. Voilà! Don't forget to squeeze some lemon juice on it and cut some slices for decoration.

    couscous, vegetable, parsley, rice, meat, herb
    Marina Wollamnn

Easy, tasteful and healthy AF salad. It is your call to decide which ingredients to add, any should be fine. They go well with almost every vegetable, meat and even fish. I would stick to the traditional tabbouleh or fresh veggies salad, but hey, luckily we are free to chose!