Honeynut Harvest Couscous Salad

Every fall I make some iteration of a harvest bowl, and this honeynut harvest couscous salad is perfect for using fall produce like honeynut squash and embracing all things cozy. 

It’s a fun combo of roasted honeynut squash (aka my favorite squash), shallots, and crispy chickpeas, along with couscous, minced parsley (for something fresh), pepitas, and a spiced maple dressing that ties everything together. There’s a myriad of flavors in this bowl, but they marry together so well!

Honeynut Harvest Couscous Salad Ingredients 

• Pearl couscous: I order this online (my go-to brand is RiceSelect) because the stores near me only carry turmeric pearl couscous (still unsure why they carry that and not regular pearl couscous).
• Honeynut squash: Possibly my favorite squash ever!! Honeynut squash is a hybrid cross between buttercup and butternut squash – it’s sweet, buttery, with a nutty undernote when it’s roasted. That said, butternut squash is the best substitute for this!
• Canned chickpeas 
• Shallots
• Fresh parsley
• Pepitas aka green pumpkin seeds: Ok so there is a difference between pepitas and pumpkin seeds. Pepitas are a variety of naturally hulless greenish pumpkin seeds from Syrian or Oil Seed pumpkins. While pumpkin seeds are from pumpkins you’d carve for Halloween – they’re white and have a hull. 
• Lemon
• Olive oil: California Olive Ranch, Brightland, and Terra Delyssa are my go-to brands for all things olive oil.
• Maple syrup
• Garlic cloves
• Coriander seeds: Feel free to swap out the coriander seeds for ground coriander, just use half the amount. 
• Cayenne pepper
• Ground Ceylon cinnamon 
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt: The reason I specify brand is that not all kosher salt is created equal. If you’re using Morton kosher salt, use half the amount in the recipe.

Method Behind this Harvest Couscous Salad

Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 

Dice the honeynut squash into small cubes, slice the shallots, drain and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly, and dump onto the prepared pan. Generously drizzle with olive oil and season with kosher salt, toss together. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until the shallots begin to char and the chickpeas are crisp and brown. 

Fill a medium-sized pot with water and bring to a boil. Dump in the couscous, along with a large pinch of salt. Cook the couscous on medium-high heat until soft (it should still have a bite to it). Drain and rinse the couscous with cold water to stop the cooking process. Add the couscous to a serving bowl. 

Next, make the spiced maple dressing. Add the olive oil and sliced garlic to a skillet (I use the same pot I used for the couscous to minimize cleanup), and fry over medium-low heat until the garlic begins to turn golden (regularly toss the garlic to ensure it cooks evenly). Sprinkle in the coriander and fry for 30-45 seconds, then sprinkle in the cayenne pepper and cinnamon and bloom for about 10 seconds. Take off the heat, and stir in the maple syrup. 

Add the roasted veggies and chickpeas to the bowl of couscous, along with the pepitas, parsley, spiced maple dressing, and squeeze of lemon. Toss together and adjust for salt and lemon as needed. Serve immediately (it tastes best warm)!

Notes 

• Cook the couscous like pasta. Cooking the couscous like pasta is so much easier and prevents it from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Plus, rinsing the couscous prevents it from clumping when it cools.
• Add greens! If you wanted to add some greens to this bowl, highly recommend thinly slicing some dino kale, massaging it with olive oil, lemon, and salt, and tossing it in with the salad. 
• Toast the pepitas for extra crunch and flavor. Full transparency, I never toast the pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas), simply because of laziness. But they do taste a lot better if you dry toast them in a pan. 

So excited for you to make this – hope you keep it on rotation throughout fall. Don’t forget to leave a starred rating and review, loving hearing your feedback!!

Print