Citrus Couscous Cups

  • Level: Easy
  • Yield: 24 salad cups
  • Total: 1 hr 5 min
  • Prep: 30 min
  • Inactive: 20 min
  • Cook: 15 min
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Ingredients

Pastry Cups:

Vegetable oil cooking spray

Flour, for dusting

Two 9-inch unroll-and-bake store-bought pie crusts, such as Pillsbury

Salad:

1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Zest of 1/4 large orange

Juice of 1/2 large orange (about 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice)

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/3 cup couscous

One 11-ounce can mandarin oranges in light syrup, drained and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Cook's Note: To toast the almonds, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 6 to 8 minutes until lightly toasted. Cool completely before using.
  2. Special equipment: 24-count nonstick mini-muffin pan; 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter
  3. For the pastry cups: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 24-count nonstick mini-muffin pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Unroll the pie crusts on a lightly floured work surface. Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut 12 circles of dough from each crust. Press the dough into the prepared muffin cups. Bake until light golden, 10 minutes. Cool completely before filling, 15 minutes.
  4. For the salad: Bring the broth, orange zest, orange juice and cumin to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the couscous and remove the pan from the heat. Cover the pan until the liquid had been absorbed and the couscous is tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Fluff the couscous and break up any lumps, using a fork. Toss together the couscous, mandarin oranges, almonds and parsley in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. For the dressing: Whisk together the oil, orange juice, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small bowl until smooth.
  6. To assemble: Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until coated. Spoon the mixture into the cooled pastry cups and serve.

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Raquel "Rocky" M.

Made this for myself a few nights ago. Firstly, didn't realize couscous and Israeli couscous aren't the same (oops!). I used Israeli couscous since it's what I had on hand. And I also didn't make the cups. I took in the reviews of other users, I added more seasoning, scallions, and paprika-seasoned shrimp. I had it warm and it was very good, I couldn't stop eating it. Then I took the cold leftovers the next day and added some arugula...delish!

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