Curried Couscous Salad with Bacon

Couscous, garbanzo beans, caramelized onion, diced red bell pepper, carrot, and cucumber are tossed with a curried white balsamic vinaigrette, then sprinkled with crumbled bacon for a bold-flavored salad.

• Preparation Time: 25 mins
• Cooking Time: 5 mins
• Total Time: 30 mins
• Calories: 212 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 slices bacon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 cup uncooked couscous
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 0.5 red bell pepper, diced
• 1.5 cups water
• 0.25 cup olive oil
• 0.75 cup diced carrot
• 0.75 cup diced cucumber
• 0.5 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain the bacon slices on a paper towel-lined plate. When cool, crumble the bacon slices, and set aside.

Step 2

Drain all but 1 tablespoon of bacon drippings from the skillet, and cook and stir the onion in the skillet until the edges of the onion begin to turn brown. Set the onion aside.

Step 3

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, and sprinkle in the couscous. Remove the pan from the heat, let stand for 5 minutes to absorb the water, then fluff the couscous with a fork. Allow couscous to cool.

Step 4

Place the onion, cooled couscous, carrot, cucumber, red bell pepper, and garbanzos into a salad bowl, and stir lightly to combine.

Step 5

In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, curry powder, and salt and pepper until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the dressing over the salad, mix again lightly, and sprinkle with bacon bits.