A light but incredibly flavoursome couscous apple salad that combines some of the best North African flavours with a dash of sweetness from the Pink Lady® apple. This giant couscous recipe makes a great side dish with some grilled chicken or you can enjoy as a super quick lunch idea.
What Apples are Best for a Couscous Salad?
Pink Lady® apples are your go-to in an apple couscous salad. They’re naturally fresh, crisp and juicy and they’re always bursting with flavour. The contrast with the soft texture of the Moroccan giant couscous is a perfect combination.
Is This a Traditional Moroccan Giant Couscous Salad Recipe?
Think of this as a traditional Moroccan couscous salad with a little twist from us. You’ve got all the traditional Moroccan ingredients such as the smoked paprika, ground cumin and ginger with a sweet infusion from the sun-ripened Pink Lady® apple.
How to Prepare Pink Lady® Apples for this Salad?
You want to enjoy the apple’s refreshingly crisp and juicy flavours with every mouthful of your salad, and the best way to do that is to dice the apple. You can follow the below instructions, remembering to keep your fingers safely away from the blade of the knife.
- Thoroughly wash and dry the apple, leaving the skin on for a splash of colour in your salad
- Core the apple using an apple corer if you have one or trim the flesh away from the core in four sections
- Cut each section in half, lengthwise
- Place each apple section flat side down on your cutting board then cut lengthwise into thin slices
- Line up the pile of apple sticks and cut across them for your perfectly diced apple
Can You Use Regular Couscous instead of Giant Couscous?
The beauty of this recipe is that you can tweak it how you like, so if you did want to use regular couscous instead of giant couscous you absolutely can. But giant couscous has a lovely, bouncy texture which is why it’s such a great ingredient in this Moroccan couscous recipe. We’ve used giant couscous in this recipe because its soft texture pairs so well with the crispness of our apples.
Full preparation
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Put the sherry into a small saucepan and gently bring just below the boil. Add the sultanas or raisins, remove from the heat and set aside to soak.
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Meanwhile, put the couscous into a saucepan of boiling water and gently simmer for 6-8 minutes until swollen and tender. Drain in a sieve and rinse in cold water. Then drain again thoroughly, using the base of a bowl to squeeze out any excess liquid and then set aside
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Put the paprika, cinnamon and cumin into a dry frying pan and gently heat until fragrant and then transfer to a large bowl.
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Add all the remaining ingredients, including the Pink Lady apples, sultanas and soaking sherry. Toss to combine, check the seasoning and serve.
