Sultry Summer Eats

By / Food / June 26th, 2012 / 1

Nancy Johnson is the Food Editor at Tidings Magazine, and rightly so. The recipes that she creates are beautiful to look at – colourful and mouthwatering – and scrumptious to eat. The wonderfully warm weather I’ve been enjoying here in Ontario makes me crave bright and tasty summer dishes. If the weather where you are hasn’t been as gracious, this recipe will bring the sunshine to you pronto.

Couscous is semolina pasta from Northern Africa. This sunny salad pairs couscous with some of my favourite things — chicken, oranges or pineapple, dried cranberries and a sweet-tart lime dressing. Top the couscous with avocado and almonds and you get my California version of a Moroccan dish. In fact, the first time I ate couscous was at a Moroccan restaurant in Palm Springs. This tasty salad takes me right back to that hot summer evening.

couscous and chicken salad with lime vinaigrette
Serves 3 to 4

3 cups cooked couscous
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 can mandarin oranges or pineapple tidbits, drained
2 tbsp dried cranberries
Lime vinaigrette
3 to 4 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 avocado, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup sliced almonds or chopped walnuts

1. In a large bowl, mix couscous, chicken, mandarin oranges or pineapple and cranberries.

2. Make Vinaigrette: In small bowl, whisk lime juice, honey, paprika and olive oil.

3. Gently mix vinaigrette with couscous mixture. Garnish salad with avocado and almonds.

Serve with a California or Australia Moscato.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Quench Food Editor, Nancy Johnson, minced, sliced, chopped, sautéed and sipped her way through George Brown College’s culinary program with a focus on food writing and wine. Nancy cooks by the code her Italian grandmother taught her: For the best results, always use the freshest, best ingredients. She writes for Ohio-based Wine Buzz Magazine and recently published a short story in Woman’s World Magazine. She is always on a diet.

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