PPN: Confetti Couscous, With Dried Cherries And Pistachios

Thanks to everyone for motivating me to stop complaining about the cherry harvest.  Your enthusiasm made me realize that this was a gift to be enjoyed.  I saw how inferior the cherries in the grocery store looked, compared to mine.  So, after giving away nearly 30 pounds to neighbors, I got busy drying, freezing, and cooking the rest. 

Years ago, back when I made my own yogurt and granola, my mother gave me a dehydrator to dry food.  A lot of dried bananas, pineapple, and apples were produced with that machine, but eventually I packed it away, where it sat on a shelf in the garage for years, lonely and unappreciated.  My husband once told me to throw it away, but I couldn't do that.  So, I was very happy to haul it down from the shelf and dry some of the cherries.  Naturally, I thought of my mother.  I wish she was still alive to see the cherries and eat this dish.  It tasted much better than I expected. The sweet cherries, crunchy pistachios, soft couscous, seasoned with mint and basil, created a most enjoyable meal.

Some of the cherries on the first rack, before drying.  The old machine still works great, even if it's noisy.

It takes a lot of fresh cherries to make this small amount.   

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

Confetti Couscous Dried Cherries And Pistachios

(Choose Cherries.Com)

Note:  I doubled this recipe and it would serve 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

Couscous:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup minced yellow onion
1 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
5 ounces whole-wheat couscous (about 1 cup)

Dressing;
1 tablespoon cherry juice (or use another type of juice, if you wish)
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons canola oil

Salad:
1/2 cup chopped dried tart or sweet cherries
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachios
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Prepare couscous:

In a saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté for about 3 minutes or until softened. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add couscous, stir, cover and remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a mixing bowl to cool.

Prepare dressing:
In a small bowl, whisk together cherry juice, lemon juice and mustard. Whisk in oil until emulsified. Set aside.

Assemble:
Add dressing and remaining ingredients to the couscous and mix well. Serve immediately.

Comments

[MyKitchenInHalfCups]

This looks and sounds like it would be excellent! I seems to have lots of my favorite things in it. I'm sure your mom would have loved it knowing the old machine still does it's thing.

[TadMack]

Ours is ancient and noisy too, but I just chucked it into the garage or onto the back porch and let it blow its warm air out there. This looks SO LOVELY. Indeed, lucky you!

[Sue (coffeepot)]

Oh what a lucky gal you are with cherries and a dehydrator.

I used to have a dehydrator but it shot the bullet one day a couple years back.

I have never had a cherry harvest.

[Lydia]

I love these kinds of combinations (in fact, I'm posting a similar dish next week), and they are great for potluck. Dried cherries and dried cranberries are great in green salad, too.

[Rosa]

Yes, it is a gift! Your cherries are my favorite kind (dark)...

That couscous salad looks wonderful! With homemade dried cherries, it must taste gorgeous!

Cheers,

Rosa

[Patricia Scarpin]

I have never thought of having couscous this way, Sher. What a wonderful recipe!

[Kalyn]

Sher, this looks like a brilliant combination. What a great way to use some of the cherries. (I have one of those dehydrators too, but haven't used it for ages!)

[Ruth]

Fantastic dish. Thanks so much for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights...and if you want to send me a batch of dried cherries...

[Alisha]

You always come up with the yummiest looking recipes and this is no exception. I'm going to have to give this one a try -- thanks :)

[Glenna]

Sher--It looks divine and how cool that you dried your own cherries! It was a lot of work to pit them and put them all up but you're going to so enjoy having them!

[Callipygia]

I absolutely love dried cherries and am glad you could revitalize the ole dehydrator. Right now I don't have the space, but I find them quite attractive as well. I bet your Mom is looking down and smacking her lips!

[katie]

I'm so jealous of all your cherries. Dwarf trees must be the answer. Our 2 trees are huge, and we never see a cherry - the birds get them all. (Except the sour cherries.... they're not stupid birds)
Our apple and pear do the same - nothing one year and crazy the next.
I love cherries and yogurt...
And the couscous looks lovely.

[kateKate]

That looks really delicious. We love dried cherries in our house, and I am wishing I was one of your neighbors!

[Lisa]

Oh, my goodness -- that's gorgeous! Tagging this right away. I won't be drying my own cherries, but I think I'll be forgiven for that. I'm a huge fan of pistachios.

[peabody]

Oh yes, this looks good. Couscous is good stuff.

[Kevin]

That couscous looks really good! Drying your own cherries sounds like fun.

[Julie]

I'm catching up on your posts and I am very, VERY envious of your cherry harvest. Wow! And this is such a creative use for them. Looks delicious. (Although I can't believe that anything beats standing under the tree and eating them straight from the tree!)

[Connie S]

Was googling to find a recipe to use some fresh Rainier cherries off of our tree as I wanted to serve them as salad with couscous. Your recipe hits the mark. Off to start it now. Thanks for sharing.

[Viator]

Your photos just resiad my serotonin. Art and color therapy! Love zaatar and haven't really tried it with anything other than pita and flatbread.