Apricot Mint Couscous Salad - North African Food for Eastern Hemisphere Study

Sophia has been studying about Africa which is part of her homeschooling about the history, culture, and geography of the Eastern Hemisphere. One of the activities that she wanted to do was make food that would be typically eaten in Africa.

Looking through Pinterest, I came across a pin for an Apricot Mint Couscous Salad from North Africa. It led to Mezze and Dolce. The salad serves 4-6 people as a salad or part of a mezze platter.

Sophia with the Apricot Mint Couscous Salad she made.

The salad is easy to make. The only labor-intensive part is chopping all the fresh ingredients. It tastes very good, though we did end up adding some more ingredients to make it a bit spicier and more flavorful.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cup couscous (we used millet because that's what we had on hand)
15 dried apricot halves
1/4 cup minced shallot
1/4 cup finely sliced green onion
1 large handful Italian parsley, chopped (we didn't have any fresh, so we used a palm-full of dried parsley)
20+ mint leaves, julienned
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh jalepeno (we used about 3/4 teaspoon...or maybe a bit more)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions

Cook couscous according to package. Cut dried apricots in half and stir into the couscous for the last 3-4 minutes of cooking. Strain, rinse with cold water, and let sit to dry while preparing the rest.

Chopping the mint.

In a large bowl, combine minced shallot, green onion, parsley, mint, and jalapeno.

Adding the mint to the other ingredients.

Mix in the couscous to coat. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Montague was a good helper.

He wanted to be in the picture with Sophia.

The salad may need more herbs, spice, or seasoning depending on your taste.