Cous Cous Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries
Today’s Week of Cranberries recipe features dried cranberries again. I know I say this a lot, but when I saw this recipe pop up in my Google Reader, I knew I needed to make this recipe. It has some of my favorite flavors all in one bowl. Hubby and I absolutely love butternut squash. We can’t get enough of it. I’ve made risotto, bisque, pie, soup, chili, and even quesadillas with butternut squash! And we couldn’t get enough of this salad! I enjoyed it cold better than room temperature, but Hubby prefered it at room temp. Either way it’s delicious.
The combination of these flavors is great. When I was mixing up the salad, I thought the chickpeas seemed a bit off, but they were one of my favorites in the salad. They add a nice dimension of texture to the salad. The spices in the dressing are an amazing combination which enhances the fall flavors of this salad. The other great thing about this salad is how easy it is to throw together. I plan on bringing this as a side dish for a holiday potluck because you can definitely make it the night before.
Cous Cous Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries
Yield: ~5 servings
Ingredients:
1 medium butternut squash (or other hard winter squash), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks - I used the pre-peeled and pre-cut butternut squash
3/4 cup uncooked cous cous
1 cup water
1 onion, diced
4-5 tablespoons white wine vinegar - I didn't have any, so I used 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar and 2 Tbsp white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Zest of one orange
1/2 teaspoon coriander - I left this out because I didn't have any
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cumin
1-3 teaspoons salt (to taste)
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss squash with a bit of olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Roast squash, stirring occasionally, until tender - about 30 minutes. Allow to cool before combining with other ingredients.
Heat water in sauce pan to boiling. Add cous cous and stir. Remove pan from heat, cover with a lid, and let sit for about 15 minutes until the cous cous has absorbed all the water. Fluff with a fork and set aside.
Saute onion in a skillet over medium-high heat until translucent. Set aside and allow to cool.
In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, zest, spices, and 1 teaspoon of salt. In a large bowl, combine squash, cous cous, onions, garbanzo beans, and cranberries. Pour on the vinegar-oil dressing and stir to combine. Taste to check seasoning and add salt if needed. This salad can be served room temperature or cold.
Recipe from Erin's Food Files
Check out my week of Cranberries here.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
This dish sounds great! I love sweet potatoes and black beans together, and the cilantro and lime sound like the perfect flavor additions.
My fiance isn’t the biggest fan of beans so I try to “sneak” them into dishes and this looks a great recipe to try out!
I absolutely adore sweet potatoes but wud have never thought of flavoring them with cilantro and lime. This sounds like it would turn out super delicious.
We always have black beans in the house too and they are just perfect with sweet potatoes too – yum!
Oh dear, I never thought of pairing these 4 fave flavors together. Amazing : )
Yum! I love black beans and I also love that they are super good for you. I think this would be an awesome quick weeknight dinner!
perfect combo of tastes. I would love to try this one.
Mmmm what a refreshing twist on sweet potatoes! These sound hearty and delicious!
What a great recipe and beautiful photo. Black beans and sweet potatoes (and cilantro, for that matter!) are a couple of my favorite foods, so I know that I’d love this!
Yum! I love black beans in salads. This sounds great!
And great pictures, too!
Made a half recipe and loved it hot or cold! Took to a work pot luck and a hit with everyone. Thanks for another great recipe.