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Tunisian Couscous Salad with Grilled Sausages

A Tunisian-style couscous salad with grilled sausages, tomato, cilantro, and lemon dressing.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Tunisian Couscous Salad with Grilled Sausages

Timeabout 10 minutes for sausages

Ingredients

Directions

Make the couscous

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan with a lid over moderately low heat.

  2. Add the garlic, couscous, cumin, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the pan.

  3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the couscous starts to brown, about 3 minutes.

  4. Stir in the tomato juice and water. Bring to a simmer.

  5. Cover, remove from the heat, and let stand 5 minutes.

  6. Transfer the couscous to a platter or a large glass or stainless-steel bowl to cool.

Grill the sausages

  1. Meanwhile, light the grill or heat the broiler.

  2. Coat the sausages with 1/2 tablespoon of oil.

  3. Grill or broil the sausages, turning occasionally, until completely cooked through, about 10 minutes.

  4. Remove from the heat.

  5. When the sausages are cool enough to handle, cut them into thin slices.

Toss and serve

  1. Toss the cooled couscous with the lemon juice, the remaining 3-1/2 tablespoons oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and the tomato.

  2. Top with the sliced sausages and the cilantro.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

651Calories
21 gProtein
42 gFat
50 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sausage100g cooked301
Couscous1 cup cooked (157g)176
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Olive + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Cumin + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together27,047 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Couscous
Forms the salad's body, absorbing the tomato juice and water as it steams covered.
Olive oil
Carries the cumin and cayenne flavor and keeps the couscous grains moist and separate.
Italian sausages
Supply the main protein and savory richness, with browning from grilling or broiling.
Tomato juice
Adds liquid and acidity that the couscous absorbs as it swells.
Lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the salad and balances the rich sausage and oil.

The step that matters

Let the couscous stand covered after simmering. Standing covered off the heat lets the grains finish absorbing liquid and steam until tender. Lifting the lid early leaves them firm and wet.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, garlic, cumin, pepper, tomato, lemon):

  1. Corianderfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Basilfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, garlic, cumin, pepper, tomato, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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