Blood Orange & Black Cherry Couscous

Marie is our resident expert on raw food. So when I come up with a concept, I often have to call her from the supermarket to double check my ideas. Is couscous safe to be eaten raw? Can you make it raw? I was pretty damn happy when I figured out that couscous could be prepared and eaten raw (as usual, Marie didn’t pick up the phone).

I’m cracking up because I thought for sure it would take a little while for the couscous to absorb liquid, Especially since I wasn’t using boiling water, let alone anything mildly warmer than room temp (I always use filtered water) I thought it would take forever. In the time it took me to grab the rest of the ingredients out of the fridge, it was already puffed up and perfect.

This was my first time making couscous and traditionally it uses way more parsley than I included. I’m not a fan of parsley, which is a shame, it’s ridiculously nutritious and Marie is always sneaking it into shakes and dishes. Normally, I would pick it out as anyone who has had a meal with me will attest. So I didn’t use as much of it as someone else might. I like it as is, but you might want to add more. Personally I think more would distract from the other flavor profiles, but when you make something at home, it’s for you, so go for it.

Raw Vegan Recipe: Blood Orange & Black Cherry Couscous

Couscous:

1 cup couscous

1 1/2 cups water

Put together in a bowl, cover and set aside.

1 purple carrot (shredded)

2 scallions (chopped)

1 sprig parsley (only the leaves) julliened

1/4 cup dehydrated black cherries

1 blood orange skinned and sectioned

Mix ingredients into couscous

Blood Orange Dressing:

1 blood orange juiced

2 tblsp olive oil

1 tblsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground cumin

a pinch each of salt and pepper

Emulsify, pour over couscous and enjoy!