17 février 2016

Live Klean Recipe: Curried Couscous Salad

This guest post was written by our friend Jen of the Long Haul Trekkers, which includes her  two-legged partner Dave and their four-legged companion, Sora. Follow their journey here. 

In the spirit of living Klean and keeping things simple on the road, we want to share a recipe for a hike/travel-friendly meal that comes together in minutes with very little effort and cooks itself in a Klean Kanteen insulated canister. That means breaking out your camp stove is completely optional – whew, sigh of relief!

"My mom has been making a variation of this curried couscous salad for several years. It’s an easy vegan staple for her to make when Dave and I visit my parents and it’s both delicious and filling. I asked her for the recipe during our tour and made my own amendments, depending on the availability of foods. I’ll add or subtract ingredients as I find them, but I’ve found that this particular version uses items that I’ve been able to find in nearly every European country we visited, and I suspect the same for South America.

Other than oats for breakfast, this is, without a doubt, my most frequently made recipe of our tour. You may notice a variety of photos of this salad. The reason for that is due to the fact that I’ve made it so many times and when you find beautiful rainbow carrots at a farmers’ market in Slovenia and the lighting in your room is perfect, you just have to take a photo. 

This recipe is so simple and so easy to make that I’ll make it for both lunch and dinner. The couscous cooks in our insulated Klean Kanteen food canister while we ride  and other than grating the carrots, slicing an onion, and cutting a lemon in half, there’s little else to prepare. I don’t even boil the water for the couscous – I simply ask a restaurant to put hot water an inch above the top of the couscous, seal the canister, and go on our way.

You can toast the cashews and pepitas if you like – and I do recommend it – but if you don’t feel like getting out your stove for the evening, just toss everything together and it tastes just as delightful.

INGREDIENTS

Couscous
1 cup couscous
1 ½ cups boiling water
Salad
2 carrots, grated
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup dried cranberries or raisins
⅓ cup pepitas (toasted, if preferred)
⅓ cup cashews (toasted, if preferred)
Dressing
¼ cup lemon juice, from 1-2 lemons, depending on size
⅓ cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 T curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp salt
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. In the morning, fill an insulated canister with the couscous and water. Stir with a spoon to distribute the water. Cover and let sit while you ride or hike.
  2. When you’re ready to prepare the salad, empty the couscous into a bowl or your camping pot and add the carrots, onions, cranberries or raisins, pepitas, and cashews.
  3. If toasting the pepitas and cashews, get out your camp stove and set to medium heat. Add the cashews, pepitas and a pinch of salt to a pan and stir constantly for 4-5 minutes, until the cashews start to brown and the pepitas begin to pop.
  4. In the same canister you used to cook the couscous, add the dressing ingredients. Seal the lid and give it a good shake. Pour over the salad and gently toss. Serve and enjoy!