A wonderfully simple side dish the whole family can enjoy, lemon and herb cous cous. Fragrant, tasty, satisfying, its everything I want as a side with grilled chicken, roasted vegetables or salad.
This dish is great all rounder, perfect for summer buffet dinners or family meals.
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Ingredients
- pearl cous cous - my preference for cous cous is always pearl, the smaller grain like cous cous is ok, but pearl cous cous holds up better in a salad dressing
- parsley - one of my favourite herbs, it's versatile and delicious
- lemon - all the brightness and freshness you need is in a lemon, the zest is my favourite part
- pine nuts - the easiest way to add a soft crunch to any meal, and absolutly perfect for this dish
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1: After softening the shallots and garlic in a pan with olive oil, add the cous cous to gently toast.
- Step 2: Add water to the pot, simmer then cover with a lid. After 10 minutes or so, transfer cooked cous cous to a plate to cool.
- Step 3: In a small bowl mix together the dressing ingredients and set aside.
- Step 4: Gently toast the pine nuts in a small pot or saucepan. Combine all ingredients and garnish with extra parsley and lemon zest.
Hint: always toast pine nuts in a dry pan, they cook really fast, so stay with them gently stirring until just golden.
Variations
I love the versatility of this dish, I can add so many different things to it, it makes a whole new meal every time.
- Spicy - add finely chopped fresh chillies if you want more heat in this dish
- Grilled vegetables - grill a bunch of vegetables, chop them up and toss them through this dish. Its a great way to use leftovers
- Chicken - don't know what to do with that leftover chicken? toss chunks of chicken through this dish and BAM! you have a lemony chicken salad!
Equipment
A mini pan for toasting pine nuts is a fun thing to have in your kitchen. This is one of my favourites.
Storage
Stores well in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Store in an airtight container.
Top Tip
This side dish is great the next day. If entertaining, make it the day before, leaving a little dressing to side in an airtight container. Then, before serving, allow the side o come to room temperature, add the remaining dressing, stir and serve.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favourite dishes to serve with this lemon and herb cous cous:
Lemon and Herb Cous Cous
Ingredients
- 2 C cous cous
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 2 ½ C water
- 1 tablespoon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 1tsp teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ C pine nuts, toasted
- ½ C parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan gentle cook the shallot and garlic in 2tbsp of olive oil over medium to low heat. Once the shallot becomes translucent, add the cous cous.
- Coat the cous cous with the shallot and olive oil mixture for a couple of minutes, then pour over the water, stir, reduce the heat and allow to come up to a gentle simmer.
- Once the cous cous has began to soften, turn off the heat and cover the saucepan with the lid. After 5 minutes, gently fluff the cous cous with a fork and gently remove the cous cous from the saucepan onto a plate. This will allow the cous cous to cool a little.
- In a separate bowl mix together the mustard, honey, salt and pepper, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest and chilli flakes then gently stir in the remaining olive oil until emulsified.
- In a large bowl, combine the cous cous, pine nuts and parsley, then pour over the dressing and gently combine the ingredients. Garnish with extra parsley and lemon zest. Enjoy!
Let me know if you have tried this recipe