Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Vegan week day 1: Wholemeal couscous salad with miso-ginger dressing

Breakfast: Papaya, pear and pomegranate smoothie

Lunch: Wholemeal couscous salad with miso-ginger dressing

Dinner: Squash, mushroom and spinach risotto with pine nuts


Having eaten far too much cream, cake, eggs and more cream this weekend, and spurred on by both a suggestion from Alison and the ridiculously gorgeous weather (read: inescapable humidity) we've been having here in Toronto, I decided to try going vegan for a week this week.

In theory, it shouldn't be too hard, although I have been falling back more and more on cheese as a filler for recipes lately, and eggs are becoming a bit of an Achilles heel! As a Brit though, the worst thing is not having real milk in tea. It's just not cricket.

I recently found out that you can buy wholemeal couscous! Along with the dressing, it helped make this salad both light and filling; a great lunch for a hot day.

You'll need
(feeds 2)
1 cup wholemeal couscous
2 mini cucumbers / 1 normal cucumber, sliced and then chopped
1 medium carrot, grated
1 large handful cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 handful almonds, roughly chopped
1 small handful fresh coriander, chopped
Dressing
1 heaped tbsp light miso
1 chunk ginger (you choose how much!), grated
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp soy
1 tsp rice vinegar
Method:
Put the couscous in a bowl with 1 1/4 cups of boiling water, and cover with a tea towel
Leave for 5 minutes until cooked
When all the water is gone, fluff with a fork and toss in the rest of the ingredients
Mix together or blend the dressing ingredients with 1 tbsp of water or as much as is necessary to get the dressing to your desired consistency
Toss the dressing with the salad and enjoy!
The dressing is basically a quicker and simpler version of that awesome sushi salad dressing that everyone loves.

As well as being versatile and delicious, couscous is one of the healthiest grains you can eat - and this is even more true if you choose the wholemeal variety. It has more protein than pasta, hardly any fat and a whole load of vitamins. I can't get enough excuses to eat it!

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