• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

How to Love Cooking

  • How To Love Cooking
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • Appetizers & Dips
    • Soup
    • Salads
    • Dessert
    • Healthy
    • Side Dish
    • Vegan
    • Vegetarian
  • About Cathy
  • Contact

Arugula and Toasted Couscous Salad with Roasted Root Veggies and Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette

October 16, 2017 By Cathy Leave a Comment

Beautiful arugula salad with couscous, parsnips, and beets on a white plate

Arugula Salad with Toasted Couscous, Roasted Vegetables, and Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

Arugula and Toasted Couscous Salad with Roasted Root Veggies and Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette

Make this gorgeous showstopper of a salad for lunch or dinner. It is lovely served on its own or top with baked chicken or salmon for a hearty meal.

Post Updated: July 2021

Jump to Recipe

I recently came upon my Dr. Seuss “All About Me” book that I filled out when I was five years old. Millennial friends, you may recall filling one of these out yourselves anywhere from age 5-8.

The book is full of fill-in-the-blank prompts and questions that kiddos can answer about themselves. And, I’ll admit it’s a pretty fun memento to go through nearly 30 years later and see what I wrote.

One of the more surprising answers I gave was in response to the “Favorite Food” prompt.

I wrote salad. 

At five years old, my favorite food was salad. Riiiiiight.

I’m gonna call Bologna Sandwich on myself right now. I highly doubt that any five year old likes salad SO much that they would permanently commit themselves (in crayon no less!) to such a lame answer.

The more plausible explanations for my answer are that 1) I liked salad dressing– namely, Ranch and 2) Since I was five years old and not completely able to spell words like ‘salad’ without a little help from Dad, I admitted that a vegetable was my favorite food – like the good people-pleasing child that I was. God forbid my parents find out that my favorite thing to eat is Publix Birthday Cake!

Arugula salad with toasted couscous and roasted vegetables

Arugula Salad with Toasted Couscous, Roasted Vegetables, and Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

Arugula Salad with Couscous and Vegetables

Yet, here I am 30 years later, and I actually do love salad. I eat salad every day. Romaine, Iceberg, Spinach, Kale – It’s all great in my book. Is it possible that maybe I just had a mature palate at age five? No, I’m still not buying it.

However, I might have enjoyed this salad. It’s beautiful speckled with jewel like roasted beets and parsnips. There’s chewy pearl couscous sprinkled all over, and the dressing has maple syrup in it!

This salad is light, yet satisfying and really lovely for fall. It starts with a base of peppery arugula and some baby spinach, but you can of course just use spinach if you prefer. Then, just sprinkle on some toasted pearl couscous, roasted parsnips and chopped beets.

Last, but not least, give the salad a generous drizzle with my new favorite fall dressing, maple-mustard vinaigrette. With just over a handful of ingredients, you can enjoy this simple and flavorful salad for your next lunch or dinner!

Arugula salad with roasted parsnips, couscous, and beets

Arugula Salad with Toasted Couscous, Roasted Vegetables, and Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

Perfect Fall Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Now that the temps have finally dropped, I’m enjoying putting my oven to work almost on the daily. Since I’m not quite ready to turn on the heat, roasting food in the oven is a nice way to warm up in my kitchen. This was definitely something I learned during my first few Chicago winters. Meal prepping and staying snuggly at the same time? Yes, and yes.

Want more fall recipes? Try this Fall Harvest Salad with Creamy Honey Mustard Dressing and this Roasted Sweet Potato, Carrot, and Turmeric Soup.

Roasted vegetables as a salad accessory require a little bit more effort, but I promise it’s worth it. I mean, look how pretty they are atop the arugula and toasted pearl couscous! And can we talk about toasted pearl couscous for a second? It’s absolutely beautiful in this salad and adds some wonderful heartiness and texture.

How to Toast Couscous

Toasting the couscous is easy and just takes a few extra minutes. Simply heat up a bit of oil in a frying pan and toss in your couscous. Over medium-high heat, toast the pearls until they brown slightly while stirring every few seconds with your spatula.

Then all you need to do is add a cup of water and a pinch of salt to the pan, cover it with a lid, and set it to simmer for ten minutes. Ta-da! You’ve got yourself some toasted and tender pearl couscous ready to sprinkle over your salad.

How to Roast Parsnips and Beets

Roasting the parsnips is a super cinch as well. Just peel them like carrots and chop them into one-inch pieces. Then, chop them in half so they can have a flat edge. Toss them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and place them on your baking sheet.

If you’ve never roasted your own beets, now you can see just how easy they are to prep. Take your beets and trim off the stems and the little end of the root if you want. Then, just wrap the whole beet up in some tin foil, and you’re ready to go!

Yep, that’s it. No need to peel the skin before roasting either. After the beets have cooked and cooled completely, you’ll easily be able to peel the skin right off.

I put the parsnips and the tin foil wrapped beets onto a sheet pan and roasted them in the oven for 40-45 minutes at 375 F. This step is great to do the day before you assemble your salad, that way you know your veggies have cooled, and all you have to do is make the couscous and vinaigrette.

Making the Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

For the maple mustard dressing, just mix all of the ingredients together until well blended. I love to use my tiny whisk for this. It’s the perfect tool for making homemade salad dressings. My next favorite way to mix dressings is in a mason jar. Add all your ingredients to the jar, seal tightly with a lid, and shake vigorously while singing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Just kidding, you can pick any song you want.

Then, all that’s left to do is assemble your fabulous salad, and enjoy! And just a friendly reminder about beets – they are messy as all heck and will stain anything and everything you come into contact with! Use and apron, and don’t wear anything you love while you prep this!

With that, I’ll leave you to channel your inner Dwight Schrute, Beet Farmer (Hi “Office” fans!) and make this salad!

Beautiful arugula salad with couscous, parsnips, and beets on a white plate
Print

Arugula Salad with Toasted Couscous, Roasted Vegetables, and Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

A delightful and hearty salad for two. Peppery arugula and baby spinach gets topped with toasted couscous, roasted root vegetables and dressed in a maple mustard vinaigrette. Delicious!

Course dinner, Lunch, Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword Arugula salad, maple vinaigrette, roasted beets, roasted parsnips, toasted couscous
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 2

Ingredients

For The Salad:

  • 2 Parsnips
  • 2-4 Beets
  • 1/3 C Israeli or Pearl Couscous
  • 1 C Water
  • 2 Bunches Arugula + Baby Spinach Mix
  • 2 TBS Olive Oil
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Pepper

For the Dressing

  • 4 TBS Olive oil
  • 2 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 2 TBS Maple Syrup
  • 2 tsp Whole Grain Mustard
  • 1/2 tsp Dried Parsley
  • 1/8 tsp Salt & Pepper or to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375° F.

  2. Wash, peel, and slice the parsnips into one-inch pieces. (I like to cut each piece in half so they have a flat edge, but you can leave them in one-inch pieces if you prefer.) Place the chopped parsnips in a bowl, and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, spread them out onto a lined baking sheet.

  3. Trim the stems and bottom of the root off of the beets. Wrap each beet tightly in a piece of tin foil, and place them on the baking sheet with the chopped parsnips. Roast the vegetables in the oven for 40-45 minutes until cooked through and tender.

  4. Once cooked, remove the vegetables from the oven and allow them to cool completely before peeling and chopping the beets (At least 15-20 minutes.) Prepare your couscous at this time.

For the couscous:

  1. Heat 1 TBS of oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the dry couscous, and toast in the pan for about 3-5 minutes while stirring constantly with a spatula. You will notice the couscous will begin to turn a light brown color and become aromatic.

  2. Once the couscous has toasted, add 1 cup of water and a pinch of salt to the pan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender.

  3. Cover the pan, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes more minutes until the water is absorbed and the couscous is tender.

For the dressing:

  1. Mix all of the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl or mason jar and whisk or shake until well blended.

  2. Prepare your salad by laying a bed of arugula on a plate. Top with the toasted couscous, chopped roasted parsnips and chopped roasted beets. Drizzle generously with the maple-mustard dressing. Enjoy!

Share & Enjoy!
3     Yum 
    
3
Shares

Filed Under: Healthy, Recipes, Salads, Vegetarian Tagged With: Arugula, beets, couscous, healthy, parsnips, salads, vegetarian

Previous Post: « Sweet Pepper Toasts with Roasted Garlic Cream Cheese
Next Post: Roasted “Chicken Soup” Vegetable Medley »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Meet Cathy

Hi! I'm Cathy, and I used to be an AWFUL cook. After years of trial and error, I grew to love it and not surprisingly, got a lot better! Here, I share my love for cooking with fun and easy recipes that anyone can make. Feel free to leave a comment or a question below any recipe you try. I'm really glad you are here! A little more about me...

Connect With Me On Pinterest!

  • Pinterest

Recent Posts

  • Honey Goat Cheese Toasts with Blackberries and Mint
  • Vegetable Benedict with Small Batch Hollandaise
  • Crunchy Raw Cauliflower Salad with Sweet Mayo Dressing
  • Hot or Iced Whipped Coffee Drink (Dalgona Coffee)

Archives

Categories

Secondary Sidebar

Footer

Privacy Policy

Brand Backer

BrandBacker Member

Copyright © 2023 · How to Love Cooking · All Rights Reserved ·

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT