Couscous Carrot Salad with Tahini Dressing from Leslie Budewitz

LESLIE BUDEWITZ:  So you bought a bag of pearl couscous to make the Shrimp with Couscous and Fried Capers I shared last month,  and now you’re wondering what to do with the rest of the couscous. No worries; I have plans for you and that bag! This recipe comes from the back of the bag – always some of the best – but I did modify it a bit, and filled in some of the gaps. 

This makes a great side salad, or served on a bed of greens and topped with a hard-boiled egg, the perfect lunch. Leftovers benefit from a drizzle of olive oil. I’ve also topped it with crumbled feta. Lots of crunch and flavor—what could be better?

A note on the spices: If you don’t have the spices on hand, or want a different flavor profile, substitute a Cajun or Creole mix, or a Syrian za’atar. Each has the zestiness of this blend, which gives the roasted chickpeas an extra pop. I’ve doubled the amount from the original; make your own call, based on your taste buds. 

I’ve learned to start with less lemon juice than a recipe calls for—here, the original wanted two tablespoons—and adjust if needed. One and a half was subtle; a little more would not be too much. 

Now what to do with the rest of the tahini? Never fear! Next month, I’ll bring you Mr. Right’s recipe for perfect hummus!

PS: I finally figured out how to embed a PDF of the recipe for easy printing. 

Scroll down to the 💕 for the link. 

Couscous Carrot Salad with Tahini Dressing

For the roasted chickpeas:

1-15 ounce can of chickpeas, aka garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the salad base:

1 cup pearl couscous, plain or tri-color, dry 

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup carrots, grated (about 2 medium carrots)

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup red onion, diced

For the dressing:

1/4 cup tahini

1-12 tablespoons lemon juice

1 small garlic clove, minced

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup cold water

Roast the chickpeas: 

Heat your oven to 425°F. Spread the chickpeas onto a small, rimmed baking sheet. Mix the salt and spices in a small bowl or jar. Pour the olive oil and salt and spice mixture on the chickpeas and use a spatula or turner to coat them evenly. Bake until lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool.

Cook the couscous: 

In a small saucepan, bring 1-1/2 cups of water to a boil. Add the couscous and salt. Return to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is tender, about 15 minutes. 

Make the dressing:

In a small blender or food processor, or a bowl with a whisk, combine the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Slowly drizzle in the water and mix until the dressing is smooth and creamy. 

Whirring blades make for fuzzy photos and yummy dressing! 

Assemble the salad:

In a medium sized serving bowl, combine the chickpeas, couscous, carrots, parsley, and red onion. Pour the dressing over the mixture and stir gently to combine. 

Serves 8. Goes great with almost any kind of meat, chicken, or fish -- or all by itself!

💕 Click here for a free printable PDF! 

At Seattle Spice Shop, owner Pepper Reece has whipped up the perfect blend of food, friends, and flavor. But the sweet smell of success can be hazardous . . .  

Spring is in full bloom in Pike Place Market, where Pepper is celebrating lavender’s culinary uses and planning a festival she hopes will become an annual event. When her friend Lavender Liz offers to share tips for promoting the much-loved—and occasionally maligned—herb, Pepper makes a trek to the charming town of Salmon Falls. But someone has badly damaged Liz’s greenhouse, throwing a wrench in the feisty grower’s plans for expansion. Suspicions quickly focus on an employee who’s taken to the hills. 

Then Liz is found dead among her precious plants, stabbed by a pruning knife. In Salmon Falls, there’s one in every pocket. 

Pepper digs in, untangling the tensions between Liz and a local restaurateur with eyes on a picturesque but neglected farm, a jealous ex-boyfriend determined to profit from Liz’s success, and a local growers’ cooperative. She’s also hot on the scent of a trail of her own, sniffing out the history of her sweet dog, Arf. 

As Pepper’s questions threaten to unearth secrets others desperately want to keep buried, danger creeps closer to her and those she loves. Can Pepper root out the killer, before someone nips her in the bud?

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

ALL GOD'S SPARROWS AND OTHER STORIES: A STAGECOACH MARY FIELDS COLLECTION, now available in in paperback and ebook 

Take a step back in time with All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection of historical short mysteries, featuring the Agatha-Award winning "All God's Sparrows" and other stories imagining the life of real-life historical figure Mary Fields, born into slavery in 1832, during the last thirty years of her life, in Montana. Out September 17, 2024 from Beyond the Page Publishing.  

“Finely researched and richly detailed, All God’s Sparrows and Other Stories is a wonderful collection. I loved learning about this fascinating woman . . . and what a character she is! Kudos to Leslie Budewitz for bringing her to life so vividly.” —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of Crow Mary

Available at Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Books-A-Million * Bookshop.org * and your local booksellers!

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Spice Shop Mysteries set in Seattle's Pike Place Market, and the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries, set in NW Montana. As Alicia Beckman, she writes moody, standalone suspense, most recently Blind Faith. She is the winner of Agatha Awards in three categories: Best Nonfiction (2011), Best First Novel (2013), and Best Short Story (2018). Her latest books are To Err is Cumin, the 8th Spice Shop Mystery and All God's Sparrows and Other Stories: A Stagecoach Mary Fields Collection, in September 2024. Watch for Lavender Lies Bleeding, the 9th Spice Shop Mystery, on July 15, 2025.

A past president of Sisters in Crime and former national board member of Mystery Writers of America, Leslie lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine. 

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