Salmon Couscous Salad

Dorie's Lori's Note:

Hot nights are inspiring cool, healthy salads! Just made this last night, and it was so pretty and so delicious I think I’ll take it to my next potluck. This is sort of a different version of my Big Hit Couscous Salad (#175176), but much easier – much less prep – esp. if you have most ingredients on hand. I used frozen veggies. Prep time does not include optional chill time.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 ¼ cups water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
• 1 ½ cups whole wheat couscous
• 1 lb cooked salmon
• ¾ cup frozen baby peas
• ¾ cup frozen extra sweet corn
• ¼ vidalia onion , diced
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
• 2⁄3; cup low-fat Italian salad dressing
• 3 tablespoons prepared mustard
• 1 lemon, juice of
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Boil the water and olive oil. When boiling, remove from heat, stir in the couscous, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork into a large bowl to cool.
2. Flake the salmon and add to the bowl.
3. Briefly steam the peas, rinse in cold water and add, then do the same for the corn.
4. Add the onion, parsley and dill.
5. Mix a bit of the dressing into the mustard to combine, then add the rest of the dressing and lemon juice.
6. Sprinkle over the couscous, mixingly. (You know what I mean.) Taste to see if there’s enough mustard and lemon for your taste. Mustard can be added thinned with liquid, such as more dressing, lemon juice, or water. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
7. Chill for at least 2 hours if you have time, but it is good eaten right away, also. We enjoyed this on lettuce leaves with sliced tomatos, cucumbers, and corn chips.
8. NOTES:.
9. Add extra time if you need to cook the salmon. I didn’t really have leftover salmon, so I poached a chunk in chicken broth and water to cover with added onion, lemon, parsley, dill, bay leaf, thyme, S&P. Was delish, and I used some liquid for ½ the couscous liquid. Saved the rest for another time. However, I am convinced this recipe would still taste delish with plain salmon.
10. I imagine most kinds of mustard would be great, except I don't know about yellow?.
11. Except the couscous, most measurements are an approximation, so please don’t be afraid to change it to fit your tastes.
12. I also noticed that the peas lost their bright green color overnight, so for brightest looks, add before serving.

Reviews

[Jo-Mama]

I took this to a brunch and people were fighting over second helpings! It's healthy, delicious and quick & easy to make. Even better when the flavours blend on day two! Thanks!

[GaylaJ]

Very good! I had to sub a different sweet onion for the Vidalia, since they are out of season, and used regular Italian dressing, rather than low-fat; used Dijon for the "prepared mustard" and baby white corn (although yellow would have added prettier color). I chose this for the Pick A Chef game--it was a very tasty, refreshing salad. Thanks for posting!