I’m not sure why I’ve waited so long to make homemade Tabouleh.  It’s packed full of fresh herbs and aromatics, my absolute favorite way to enhance flavor.  Today, I introduced this dish to several friends, who I think now also share my love of this Middle Eastern salad.

A wonderful weekly Farmers Market has sprouted within walking distance to our house.  Many of the vendors are selling yummy edible homemade goods and are more than willing to let you sample their offerings.  I must admit, I’ve been spending extra time with Hummus and Tabouleh Guy.  What he makes is amazing and I’m certain far more authentic.  Having said that, it’s also very punchy with lots of lemon juice and very little couscous (or bulgar).

I chose to make a Tabouleh & Couscous Salad which still delivered the wonderful fresh herb flavors, but in mild fashion.  I began with a batch of couscous, although this salad would be equally tasty with bulgar or quinoa.  For the tabouleh, I pulled out my food processor and added fresh parsley, mint, cilantro and garlic and gave it a whirl.  The herbs are combined with the couscous, fine diced tomato, fresh squeezed lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper.

Tabouleh, or Tabbouleh as many spell it, is a such a lovely example of the term ‘layers of flavor.’  The fresh herbs each bring their own personality and the lemon juice delivers just the right amount of pop.  Personally, I love tabouleh served with a base of couscous, which takes it from a dip to a salad, or easily a meal.

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Tabouleh & Couscous Salad

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 cup couscous
• 2 cups fresh flat leaf parsley stems discarded
• 1 cup fresh cilantro stems discarded
• 1 cup fresh mint stems discarded
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 med. to lg. tomato fine diced
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

• Prepare couscous according to package instructions. Cool to room temperature.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine parsley, mint, cilantro and garlic. Pulse until herbs are finely chopped but not paste. Scrape into a medium bowl and add desired amount of prepared couscous.
• Then fold in diced tomato, lemon juice, and olive oil. Stir to combine. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

The post Tabouleh & Couscous Salad appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Or at least it used to be before we became a food blogging family. 

We easily had this dish once a week and would have to force ourselves to occasionally change up the way we prepared salmon. 

Now with an effort to share new and different recipes we’ve neglected some of our old favorites. 

This one is just too good not to share.  There’s nothing fancy about Garlic & Herb Baked Salmon over Spinach Couscous.  Start to finish it’s ready in 20 minutes. 

The salmon is super moist, seasoned just right, topped with fresh herb pop, and served over spinach couscous. 

And did I mention it’s fabulous leftover. 

Cold or hot.

We are fortunate that fresh salmon is readily available and reasonably priced where we’re located. 

So my first recommendation is fresh, however I have friends who use frozen salmon and say it’s very good.  Either will work with this recipe. 

Regarding quantities, we figure about 6 ounces of salmon per person and then buy a little extra to enjoy leftover.

Do you have staple recipes that you family loves? I’m always looking for recipe inspiration. I’d love for you to share in the comments below.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Garlic & Herb Baked Salmon {over Spinach Couscous}

Prep Time 3 minutes minutes

Cook Time 17 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For salmon…

• Salmon fillet
• spray olive oil
• garlic & herb seasoning recipe on blog
• sea salt
• freshly cracked black pepper

For couscous…

• 2 cups water
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• pinch salt
• 1 cup couscous
• 2-3 Tablespoons aromatics such as minced shallot, garlic, scallions
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves

To serve…

• fresh cilantro
• scallions
• diced tomato optional

Instructions

For the salmon…

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat baking dish with olive oil spray. Place salmon skin side down. Sprinkle with Mrs. Dash seasoning, salt & pepper. Lightly spray with olive oil. Bake for 17 minutes for rare/medium-rare (depending on thickness).

For couscous…

• While salmon is baking bring water, oil and salt to boil in medium sauce pan. Add in couscous and aromatics. Stir well. Cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and add in fresh spinach leaves; cover.

To serve…

• Spoon couscous onto a serving platter. Top with salmon. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro, sliced scallion, diced tomato and freshly cracked black pepper.

The post Garlic & Herb Baked Salmon {over Spinach Couscous} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

When making Healthy Choices, one of the first things I add to our weekly dinner rotation is Jenny-O All Natural Turkey Tenderloins.  This versatile white meat is actually slightly lower in fat and calories than boneless skinless chicken breasts.  And their mild flavor lends itself to recipe creativity.  Like this flavor packed colorful Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin.

While Winter Thyme brings Spice Exploration to the pages of Lemony Thyme, it also brings less than desirable lighting for food photography.  However, because I loved this dish so much I see nothing but beautiful flavor here.  The stuffing began with a base of cinnamon infused couscous.  To that I added sautéed onion and garlic that was seasoned with cumin and coriander.

Next came the aromatics: the nutty sweet flavors of dried pitted dates and shelled pistachios combined with the tart pop from fresh orange pieces and pomegranate seeds.  I also added about a 1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro leaves.  Flavor wow!!  I have actually pictured this Moroccan Stuffing to share as a separate recipe.  It’s amazing.

I’m a sucker for stuffing with anything.  It is after all one of my favorite food groups.  So I butterflied the tenderloins, pounded them to an even thickness (about 3/4-inch), then stuffed them with this glorious Moroccan influenced filling.

A little butcher’s twine helps keep everything in place.  I lightly browned the stuffed tenderloins in an oven-proof skillet, then basted them with a wonderful spiced honey glaze before transferring them to the oven to bake.  Pour yourself a glass of wine and set your timer for 30 minutes, give them another basting with the glaze, set your timer for 10 minutes and check for doneness.  Recommended temperature is 165 degrees.  We remove ours just before and let them rest for 10 minutes while coming up to temp.  Slice and serve.

We reheated one of the Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloins by wrapping it in foil and placing it in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  It was just as delicious as when we first served this dish.  Enjoy!

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Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 24- ounce pkg. Jennie-O All Natural Turkey Tenderloins pounded to 3/4-inch thickness.
• 1/2 cup couscous
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 Tbl. olive oil divided
• 1 onion fine diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 6 dried pitted dates chopped
• 1/2 cup pistachios chopped
• 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
• 1/4 cup orange pieces chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

For the glaze…

• 1 Tbl. honey
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• salt & pepper

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Butterfly turkey tenderloins and pound to even thickness, about 3/4-inch. Reserve.
• Combine 3/4 cup water with 1 cinnamon stick in a small saucepan. Bring water to boil, stir in couscous and cover. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick, drizzle with 1 Tbl. olive oil and fluff with fork.
• Meanwhile, in an oven-proof skillet sauté onion in a tsp. of olive oil over medium heat until just tender; add in minced garlic, coriander and cumin; cook another minute.
• Add onion mixture along with dates, pistachios, pomegranate, orange pieces, and cilantro to couscous. Allow to cool slightly before stuffing tenderloins.
• Cut 3 pieces of 12-inch butcher’s twine for each tenderloin. Lay butterflied tenderloin on top of strings. Split couscous between each tenderloin. Tie snuggly with twine. Add remainder of olive oil to skillet and brown tenderloins on all sides.
• Combine glaze ingredients and baste browned tenderloins. Transfer tenderloins to oven and bake for 30 minutes. Baste again, then bake an additional 10 minutes or until done. 165 degrees is the recommended temperature. Rest 5 – 10 minutes before slicing.

The post Moroccan Stuffed Turkey Tenderloin appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I am a huge fan of couscous and an even bigger fan of changing it up each time we make it.  For Mushroom, Spinach & Herb Couscous, I add diced fresh mushrooms, and sliced scallions to the cooking water, along with a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of fine chopped fresh lemony thyme, and about a 1/2 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning.

When the water comes to a boil, stir in the couscous, cover the pot and remove from the heat for 5 minutes.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and gently fold in a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach leaves.  Return the lid and allow the spinach to wilt for a few minutes before serving.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

Mushroom, Spinach & Herb Couscous you can be my sidekick any day!!

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Mushroom, Spinach & Herb Couscous

Course Side Dish

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 cup couscous
• 3 oz. fresh mushrooms diced
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. fresh lemony thyme finely chopped
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning
• 2 handfuls fresh spinach leaves stems trimmed
• salt & pepper

Instructions

• In a medium sauce pan, add 1 1/4 cups water, mushrooms, scallions, thyme, olive oil, and Mrs. Dash seasoning and bring to a boil.
• Remove from heat, stir in couscous, cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
• Fluff couscous with a fork and gently stir in fresh spinach. Cover and allow spinach to wilt before serving, 3-4 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

The post Mushroom, Spinach & Herb Couscous appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

“It’s my pleasure.”

What a lovely statement and I mean that so sincerely when it comes to cooking for my co-workers.  Today was a lunch meeting for our fabulous Customer Service Team.  I shared BBQ Turkey Burgers, Smoked Paprika Sweet Potato Chips and this Moroccan Couscous Salad which is just bursting with flavor.

I prepared the couscous and once cooled tossed it with sweet seedless red grapes, dried apricots, toasted pine nuts, scallions and fresh cilantro, then drizzled the salad with an apricot lemon dressing (Eureka Lemon EVOO, apricot preserves, white balsamic vinegar, sriracha, lemon juice & zest, toasted ground cumin seeds, coriander, and a pinch of cinnamon). This Moroccan Couscous Salad had the right balance of sweet and tart, with the subtle flavors of spice shining through. Spectacular.

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Moroccan Couscous Salad {Share the Love}

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Moroccan

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the couscous

• 2 cups couscous
• 2 Tbl. olive oil
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2½ cups chicken or vegetable broth or water
• ½ cup pine nuts toasted
• 1 cup red seedless grapes halved
• 1 cup dried apricots cut into strips
• ¼ cup scallions thinly sliced
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves chopped

For the dressing…

• ¼ cup Eureka Lemon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/8 cup apricot preserves
• 2 Tbl. white balsamic vinegar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sriracha hot sauce
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. ground coriander
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. salt or to taste

Instructions

For the couscous…

• In a large sauce pan, add broth, salt, and olive oil to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover and remove from heat. Allow to rest 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Cool completely before assembling salad.
• Toast pine nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat until they begin to turn golden brown, stirring frequently. Remove from pan immediately.
• In a large bowl, combine couscous, pine nuts, and next four ingredients.

For the dressing…

• Whisk together all dressing ingredients. Adjust seasoning to taste.
• Pour over couscous mixture and toss gently to combine. Chill until ready to serve.

The post Moroccan Couscous Salad {Share the Love} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.