Cypriot Grain Salad (With Video)

Cypriot Grain Salad is a delicious fresh salad packed with nuts, seeds, fresh herbs and then garnished with gorgeous pomegranate seeds and Greek yoghurt.

My version of a cypriot grain salad was inspired by the recipe of the same name from celebrity chef George Calombaris, served in his restaurant Hellenic Republic.

Instead of going down the ancient grains route of using freekeh for this Greek grain salad I have given this salad a bit of supermarket makeover and substituted couscous instead.

It has a much quicker cooking time, and is much more readily available in the supermarket than the freekeh used in the original recipe.

Why you will love this cypriot grain salad

• Quick to make - despite the longish list of ingredients!
• A healthy salad that still tastes amazing and looks beautiful too!

What you need to make this cypriot grain salad

*Please see the recipe card below for exact ingredient quantities and detailed instructions

Salad ingredients

• wholemeal couscous - if you can't find wholemeal you can substitute with plain, or see my other suggestions for substitutes in my Variations section below.
• lentils - the original recipe calls for a specific variety of lentils called du puy lentils - I just used tinned (canned) which also means they are already cooked.
• slivered almonds - these can be bought toasted or untoasted. I used untoasted as they get toasted with the pine nuts on the stove.
• pine nuts
• fresh parsley
• fresh coriander (cilantro)
• red onion (spanish onion)
• currants
• baby capers
• fresh lemon juice
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

*Please see the recipe card below for exact ingredient quantities and detailed instructions

Yoghurt dressing ingredients

• thick greek yoghurt - I used low fat but full fat is fine.
• ground cumin
• honey
• pomegranate seeds

*Please see the recipe card below for exact ingredient quantities and detailed instructions

How to make this recipe

1. Add pine nuts and slivered almonds to a small frying pan and toast over low heat then set aside.
2. To make the yoghurt dressing add greek yoghurt to a small bowl.

3. Then stir in ground cumin and honey and set aside.
4. To make the salad, take a medium bowl and prepare the couscous as per the package directions then fluff with a fork to separate the grains.

5. Add the lentils to the couscous in the bowl.
6. Add parsley and coriander (cilantro) leaves.

7. Finally add red onion, currants, reserved toasted nuts and capers then mix well to combine.
8. Add olive oil along with lemon juice and salt to taste. Place couscous mixture into a serving dish, dollop the cumin yoghurt over the top then scatter over pomegranate seeds to serve.

Top tips

• Watch the slivered almonds carefully as you toast them, their flat sides mean that they don't roll around as much as the pine nuts (despite stirring) and can get brown very quickly on one side. Alternatively, you could purchase slivered almonds that are already toasted (if these are available to you) and just toast the pine nuts.
• I used a whole pomegranate. You could mix some of the seeds (arils) through the salad before you top it off with the yoghurt if you like and reserve some to decorate for serving.
• You can take some of the raw onion taste out of the red onion by placing the chopped onion in a fine sieve and run it under some cool water then allow it to drain and dry it well with a paper towel before adding it to the salad.

How to deseed a pomegranate

• If you need help deseeding the pomegranate, an easy way is to cut it in half around the middle then hold one half (cut side down) over a large deep bowl and give the base a good whack with the flat side of a meat mallet, or a sturdy wooden spoon or rolling pin. Pro tip - these stain so don't wear white or your good clothes just in case!
• Another option (and slightly less messy) is to slice off the crown of the pomegranate (the top sticky-out part) to expose some of the seeds and the white membrane inside. You will notice as you look from the top down that the pomegranate has large segments or chambers of seeds (like an orange - only bigger) which are separated by a white membrane. Take a small sharp knife and score the skin of the pomegranate down these lines of the membrane (not going all the way to the base) then peel out the sides like petals and use your fingers to tease out the seeds or turn it upside down over a deep bowl and give it a bash like the first method above. Again - don't wear your best clothes!

Variations

• Substitutes for wholemeal couscous could be plain couscous, freekeh, quinoa, cracked wheat or brown rice.
• Substitute flaked almonds for slivered, but they will brown (or burn!) much quicker than slivered.
• I have dressed the salad with a tiny sprinkle of ground cumin over the yoghurt on the finished dish, you could also sprinkle over some toasted cumin seeds.
• Instead of making the greek yoghurt dressing to go on top, stir through some crumbled feta.
• Don't like coriander? Substitute with more fresh parsley.
• Pumpkin seeds would be a good addition.

Storage

This cypriot grain salad is best eaten on the day to keep the fresh quality of the herbs, but the leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Making ahead

To keep the herbs vibrant and fresh I would prepare the salad up to the end of step 4 in the recipe card below (leaving out the parsley and coriander), along with the yoghurt dressing then keep them both covered (separately) in the fridge until you are going to make the salad.

Then when you want to assemble the salad, chop the parsley and coriander then add this to the couscous mixture and proceed with the recipe as written from step 5.

Other recipes you may enjoy

Turkish Onion Salad - sliced red onions lightly marinated in lemon and olive oil combined with sumac and fresh parsley to make an easy Turkish onion salad.

Pumpkin Couscous Salad - make your favourite supermarket pre-packaged salad at home with sweet butternut squash (pumpkin), chargrilled capsicum, mint & couscous.

Parmesan Couscous - a fast and tasty side dish on the table in 8 minutes. Super easy, and great for when you don't have time on your side!

📖 Recipe