Cold Soak Mediterranean Couscous
Couscous, chickpeas, and olives soaked cold in a jar with lemon and oil.
- calories
- 880
- weight
- 6.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 135
- protein
- 24 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 300 ml cold
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Cold soak
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Bikepacking
- Day hike
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Couscous | 3/4 cup | plain instant, not pearl |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried or home-dried chickpeas | 1/3 cup | |
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 2 tbsp | snipped small with scissors at home |
| Dried red bell pepper | 2 tbsp | |
| Dried minced onion | 1 tbsp | |
| Dried parsley and mint | 1 tbsp total | |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Sea salt and black pepper | 1/2 tsp | |
| Powdered lemon or a lemon juice packet | 1 tsp | |
| Olive oil | 1.5 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Kalamata olives | 2 tbsp | shelf-stable pouch, drained |
Method
- Dump the dry mix into a wide-mouth jar or freezer bag.
- Add 300 ml of cold water. Stir once so nothing sits dry against the walls.
- Seal it and walk. Ninety minutes is enough; three hours is better for the chickpeas.
- Pour in the oil and add the olives. Stir hard, mash a few olives into the grain, and eat straight from the container.
Couscous is one of the few grains that hydrates fully in cold water, which is why this works without a stove. It softens by capillary action rather than heat, so the only cost is time in the pack. The chickpeas take longest; give them the full soak or they stay chalky.
The fresh parts of the original are the parts that do not travel. Cucumber turns to nothing when dried, so it is gone. Feta is out too, since soft cheese has no business in a pack in summer. What is left carries the dish: sun-dried tomato and olive supply the salt and acid that fresh vegetables were providing, and the oil goes in at the end so it coats the grain instead of sealing water out of it.
Packing
Everything dry goes in one bag at home. Oil rides in its own bottle, olives in their pouch until the last minute, or the couscous turns purple and greasy in your pack.
Variations
- A foil packet of tuna turns this into a heavier dinner.
- Swap couscous for instant rice or quinoa flakes if you need it gluten-free.
- A shake of sumac or za'atar does most of what fresh lemon zest would.
https://blog.9jakitchen.com/couscous-salad-fresh-healthy-recipe-guide