This flavorful vegan maftoul salad combines toasted pine nuts, vibrant diced vegetables, and herbs in a zesty lemon dressing.
Inspired by my son's Faahlestinia grandmother's traditional maftoul stew, this dish is a blend of fresh ingredients and aromatic herbs.
Whether served as a hearty main course with tofu tawook skewers or a delightful side dish in lettuce cups, this salad is a versatile crowd-pleaser.
Moreover, it caters to various dietary needs as it is vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, and corn-free.
If you're pondering over whether couscous is vegan, rest assured that maftoul, a type of couscous, is entirely plant-based, making it ideal for vegan diets.
About The Ingredients
The complete list of ingredients with measurements, can be found in the full recipe card below.
When it comes to the ingredients, you can find maftoul, also known as small couscous, in your local supermarket or purchase it online. It's essential not to mistake it for another type of couscous called moghrabieh. To elevate the flavor of the couscous, cook it in water with a vegetable bouillon cube, or try this homemade vegan broth recipe .
Once cooled, mix it with toasted pine nuts, diced fresh veggies, and herbs to impart a refreshing touch to the salad.
Additionally, consider adding sultanas, or raisins, or currants, or cranberries to introduce a hint of sweetness.
While cranberries are favored by the men in my family, I personally enjoy adding raisins, a common feature in many Middle Eastern dishes like kibbeh.
Maftoul Salad Dressing
Keep it simple yet flavorful with a blend of extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, fresh chili, ground allspice, cinnamon, caraway, and salt.
Variations
To make the salad more substantial, incorporate cooked tempeh, tofu, beans, or lentils.
If you desire more inspiration, I sometimes love including pomegranate arils and wild rocket.
Janelle’s Tips
To expedite the cooling process, spread the cooked and fluffed couscous onto a tray before mixing in the veggies and herbs.
This simple trick will help streamline the preparation of this delightful maftoul salad, which is a similar process in my brown rice chickpea salad
FAQ
Maftoul is the Arabic word for couscous.
It is pronounced "mahf-tool" and is written as مفتول or additionally in English as maftool or maftul.
Couscous, originally, is a type of North African pasta made from semolina wheat flour, usually served with vegetables and/or meat.
Typically hand-rolled into small, medium or large balls, maftoul has a chewy texture and is now a staple food in Middle Eastern cuisine. It is often steamed or soaked in water and has a light, fluffy texture.
No. As maftoul is made from wheat, it contains gluten.
The best way to easily cook couscous is the ratio of 1:1⅓ that is 1 cup couscous to 1⅓ cup liquid.
Stir through 1-2 tablespoons of oil to hot vegetable stock and then add in the couscous, allowing it to sit for about 5 minutes until it can be fluffed up using a fork. It can be served warm or cold.
Couscous can become clumpy for several reasons:
Over-absorption of liquid - If too much liquid is added to the couscous, it can become soggy and clump together. This unfortunately can't be undone.
Insufficient fluffing - If the couscous is not fluffed and separated after cooking, it can clump together. Use a fork to fluff.
Overcooking - If the couscous is overcooked, it can become mushy and clump together.
Did you make this? I'd love to know! Leave me a comment below with a ★★★★★ star rating or tag @plantbasedfolk on social media.
Recipe
Maftoul Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup Couscous
- 1⅓ cup Boiling water
- 1 cube Vegetable bouillon
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 teaspoon All spice ground
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon ground
- ½ teaspoon Caraway ground
- ½ cup Red bell pepper (capsicum) finely diced, measurement after chopping
- ½ sml Red onion finely diced
- ¼ cup Flat parsley leaves chopped
- ½ cup Carrots grated, measurement after grating
- ¼ cup Pine nuts
- ¼ cup Dried cranberries see above article for variations
- ¼ cup Fresh mint leaves chopped
- ½ small Green chili to taste
- ¼ cup Lemon juice freshly squeezed
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together hot vegetable stock, oil, and spices. Pour couscous on top of the vegetable stock and gently mix together. Set aside for 5 minutes
- Add pine nuts to a non-stick pan over medium heat and dry toast until golden. Immediately remove the pine nuts from the pan and place them into a bowl to stop them from toasting further. Set aside.
- Fluff the couscous using a fork, which should easily comb through, there should be no clumps. Then spread it out on a tray to cool it down to room temperature
- Combine the prepped vegetables, cranberries, pinenuts, chili, lemon juice and chopped fresh herbs in a bowl. Add the cooled couscous and combine with a fork. Season to taste. Serve alone, as a side or in lettuce cups, see suggestions in the above article.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
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Michelle
Simply delicious! I love how fresh this tastes and the different flavours from the toasted pine nuts and sultanas are just perfect. Everyone loved it, thank you for sharing it.
Alex
I love the idea of serving this in lettuce cups! It looks so beautiful, and the flavours in this sound so delicious.
Charla
So glad that this is a vegan salad, another option for my plant based needs.
Nart
I tried this recipe and it was so, so good. My whole family loved it!
Dannii
We are always looking for new ways to use cous cous and this looks delcious.