Couscous Salad With Turmeric, Chickpeas and Tomato

By Genevieve Ko

Updated January 29, 2025

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
5(444)
Comments
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Turmeric highlights the golden hue of couscous while adding a welcome bit of flavor. The grains are paired with tomatoes, which have been left to sit in red wine and vinegar, infusing them with flavor and making the dressing even more juicy for the couscous-chickpea mix. If you want the onion to be nice and crisp and to take its raw edge off, put the slices in a bowl of ice and water before you cook the couscous. Drain them right before tossing them in. You can add even more crunch by topping the salad with sliced celery or chiles, if you like your food spicy. Either thinly sliced fresh chiles, such as fresno or jalapeños, or preserved ones, like peppadews or hot cherry, work well.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

  • ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to taste

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning

  • 1 ¾ cups couscous (10 ounces)

  • ⅓ cup red-wine vinegar, plus more to taste

  • Black pepper

  • 3 medium ripe tomatoes, diced (2 ½ cups)

  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

  • 1 small red onion, halved and very thinly sliced

  • 5 ounces baby arugula

  • 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (½ cup)

  • Thinly sliced celery, or fresh or jarred chile peppers, for serving (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

44 grams carbs; 8 milligrams cholesterol; 343 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 7 grams fiber; 379 milligrams sodium; 11 grams protein; 4 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the turmeric, 2 tablespoons oil and ½ teaspoon salt with 2 cups water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the couscous, cover, and remove from the heat. Let stand for at least 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, whisk the vinegar with the remaining ¼ cup oil and a generous pinch each of salt and pepper in a very large bowl. Add the tomatoes and chickpeas and stir to coat.

  3. Step 3

    When the couscous is ready, scrape with a fork to fluff into bits. Pour into the tomato mixture, along with the onion, arugula and half the cheese. Fold gently until well mixed, then season to taste with salt and pepper, and dress with additional oil and vinegar, if desired.

  4. Step 4

    Divide among dishes and top with the remaining feta and the celery or chile, if using.

Tip

  • It’s fastest and easiest to rinse grains in a sieve. Simply run cold water over them while gently shaking the sieve, then gently shake dry. It’s important to rinse grains to clean them and in the case of quinoa, to remove saponins, which can leave a bitter or soapy aftertaste. As it’s also tough to get flavors into grains once they’re cooked, it's a good idea to season them with salt at this point.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
444 user ratings
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Comments

FRITZ

Like pasta, couscous is a processed grain product, but it is less refined than pasta. Couscous is made from crushed durum wheat and not the ground durum wheat used to make pasta. But those little couscous granules are not 'whole' grains like barley, brown rice, or millet.

Jordan B

I used a shallot instead of a red onion and added it to the vinegar mixture with the tomatoes and chickpeas. Seems to have moderated the shallot a bit, in a different way than soaking in water. I also added some fresh mint and cucumber at the end. Made for a nice dinner on a hot summer evening.

betsy

Cut back on olive oil Don’t use pearl couscous

diana

I’ve made this before and it’s always quite good but this time I used pearled couscous instead of regular and it was even better!

diana

Delicious as written. No need to change anything. Yum.

JWill

I was out of couscous and used sushi rice instead. I also substituted the red onion with shallots. It's delicious, fresh, and filling!

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