The carrot salad with chickpeas and couscous is a fresh, rich, and easy-to-prepare main dish perfect for lunch, for dinner both at home and outside. During the summer, it’s the ideal solution for the beach, picnics, or day trips. It’s also a good idea to prepare it in advance, so it’s ready in the fridge when you return home. Here you see it in two versions: classic and vegetarian. Because everyone has their tastes. You can also customize it as you like by adding or removing ingredients according to your preferences. Let’s head to the kitchen and see how to prepare the carrot salad with chickpeas and couscous.
Not to be missed
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Spring, Summer
Ingredients
- 1 cup g pre-cooked couscous
- 7 oz g carrots
- 7 oz g canned chickpeas
- 1 tbsp shelled pumpkin seeds
- 1.8 oz g speck strips
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 lemon (juice)
- to taste salt
- 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil (approximately)
- 1.4 oz g arugula
Tools
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife kitchen
- 2 Bowls
- 1 Pan
- 1 Vegetable Peeler
- 1 Citrus Juicer manual
Steps
Wash the carrots, dry them, remove the ends, and cut them into strips using a vegetable peeler. Transfer them to a bowl. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and one of sugar and let them rest for ten minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the couscous following the instructions on the package. In mine: put the couscous in a bowl, add water or broth, hot or cold, in an amount equal to the weight of the product used. Cover and let it rest for a few minutes. Add salt, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and fluff with a fork. I find this couscous really convenient because it’s very quick to prepare and you can also use cold water.
In a small pan, toast the pumpkin seeds without adding fat and let them cool. Drain the chickpeas from their liquid and remove the skins unless you have peeled chickpeas. Add them to the couscous, season with a drizzle of oil, salt, and lemon juice. Combine the drained and patted dry carrots with paper towels, the washed and patted dry arugula with paper towels, the speck strips, and toasted pumpkin seeds.
In the version without speck, I added a sauce made with plain Greek yogurt, a little oil, and a pinch of salt. For the amounts, I went a little by eye, but I’ll leave you in the notes the quantities for an amount to be served in a bowl from which guests can help themselves as they like.
Notes
For the yogurt sauce: 200 g plain Greek yogurt, 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, salt.
Recipe source: Fior Fiore in cucina February 2025. The original recipe uses bulgur.
