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Couscous, Roasted Pepper & Chickpea Salad
Recipe

Couscous, Roasted Pepper & Chickpea Salad

Main • South Africa

A colourful couscous salad loaded with roasted peppers, chickpeas, crunchy cucumber and a zesty lemon dressing. Great as a light main or lunchbox meal.

Why smarter

Uses chickpeas for satisfying plant protein and fibre, keeps the dressing light with lemon and a little oil, and boosts volume and crunch with fresh veg.

Chef tip

If you have time, toss the chickpeas with the spices and roast them for 10 minutes alongside the peppers for extra flavour and a slightly crisp bite.

Soft line

Easy, colourful and genuinely filling.

Ingredients

# Ingredient Text Amount Unit Ingredient Name Notes
1 Couscous 1.500 cups couscous uncooked
2 Boiling water or hot vegetable stock 1.500 cups water or vegetable stock use reduced-salt stock if possible
3 Red bell peppers, quartered and deseeded 2.000 medium red bell peppers
4 Canola or grapeseed oil (divided) 2.000 tbsp canola oil or grapeseed oil
5 Chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1.000 can chickpeas 400 g can
6 Cucumber, diced 0.500 medium cucumber
7 Red onion, finely sliced 0.500 small red onion
8 Baby spinach or rocket 2.000 cups baby spinach loosely packed
9 Fresh parsley, chopped 0.500 cup parsley
10 Lemon juice 3.000 tbsp lemon juice about 1 large lemon
11 Dijon or mild mustard 1.000 tsp mustard
12 Ground cumin 1.000 tsp ground cumin
13 Smoked paprika 1.000 tsp smoked paprika or sweet paprika
14 Salt and black pepper salt and black pepper to taste
15 Crumbled feta (optional) 80.000 g feta optional, for serving

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 220°C. Place the peppers on a tray, drizzle with 1 tbsp oil, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and roast for 18–22 minutes until charred at the edges.
  2. Meanwhile, put the couscous in a large bowl. Pour over the boiling water or hot stock, cover, and stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork to separate the grains.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1 tbsp oil with lemon juice, mustard, cumin and paprika. Season to taste.
  4. Add the chickpeas to the couscous and toss with half the dressing while the couscous is still warm so it absorbs flavour.
  5. When the peppers are done, transfer to a bowl and cover for 5 minutes, then slice into strips (this makes them easier to peel if you want to remove the skin).
  6. Add roasted peppers, cucumber and red onion to the couscous mixture. Toss to combine.
  7. Fold in the baby spinach (or rocket) and chopped parsley.
  8. Drizzle over the remaining dressing, toss again, and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and extra lemon if needed.
  9. Serve as is, or top with a little crumbled feta if using.