Mayan Couscous

Definitely a five-star dish and maybe the best couscous recipe I've ever tasted. HOWEVER, a warning for those who don't know what beans can be toxic if undercooked. (Am I the only one who didn't know this?) Instead of canned black beans I decided to cook dry white beans from scratch because I had them. I undercooked them -- boiled them for five minutes, then let them sit in the hot water for about two hours. I knew they were undercooked because they were a bit crunchy, but they tasted okay. About an hour after we ate, both my boyfriend and I came down with stomach cramps and some serious gas. We felt horrible for about eight hours. After a little Googling I learned that kidney shaped beans can be toxic and, in rare cases, fatal if undercooked. Moral of the story? You learn something new every day.uncontrollably.

This has become one of my favorite recipes because its quick and easy to make. makes a great lunch too, is just as good cold as it is warm, and if you want to make it heartier , which sometimes i do, you can add some chicken and a side salad and its an instant main course. A few suggestions - the couscous step in the ziploc bag is rather unnecessary. Couscous is extremely easy to prepare. simply mix the cumin, salt, and couscous in a bowl, bring 2 cups of water to boil, turn off the boiling water, add the couscous, cover with a lid, its ready in about 5 min. this is simpler, and more environmentally friendly than using a ziploc bag each time. this way you can simply stir all your ingredients into the pot that already contains the couscous. Also, like many others here, i browned my onion in some olive oil before adding it. I also add a lot more lime than what is called for. The lime really does make the dish. Great dish.

Delicious! I followed the recipe except I substituted quinoa for the couscous and replaced the corn (didn't have any) with sliced black olives, which went nicely. I did slightly cook the onions and added a handful of sliced green onion tops. As suggested elsewhere, I squeezed every last drop out of 2 limes. Good both warm and chilled. A hit with the hubby, who is a traditionalist. Filling and satisfying, I will be making this again.

good, a little under seasoned for my liking. added more cumin, jalapenos, lime, as well as added bell pepper and some chili powder (like me some twang) and i simmered all the veggies with the garlic before adding to couscous. turned out well.

Very pleasing. I thought this tasted good refrigerated too.

Hubby was super impressed with this one (he's the pickier eater in the family) and I loved it too. I served it with some grilled salmon...yum! I followed the recipe exactly as written. Next time I'd probably add more cumin, jalapeno and lime. Those flavors weren't really coming through for me as much as I'd hoped. I might also add raw garlic instead of roasted to get more flavor. Overall, a great recipe! I'd make it again!

This was excellent. The fresh lime juice really makes this dish. The amount of ingredients was right on.

Very good! I only used half of a jalapeño and it was spicy - the bf couldn't eat it lol. If you don't like spicy, I would just cut it out all together.

This is an outstanding recipe. I followed the recipe but added more lime juice (per other reviews). This is a keeper! Thanks!

This is one of my favorite recipes because it has so many of my favorite ingredients. Instead of couscous, I always use quinoa since it's a "super food" and I love the flavor. This time I didn't have a fresh garlic so I had to use garlic salt but it didn't change the flavor too much since it doesn't rely on the garlic for it's flavor. There are so many other great flavors in the recipe.

So I made this recipe as written. My husband and I enjoyed it, but we both said it is both bland and spicy (how can that be?). It's spicy, but you're waiting for another flavor. My husband said steak. I said feta cheese. Either way, it is a good start recipe, but we think it needs an addition of some sort. And like other reviewers mentioned...the lemon makes the dish.

As with most recipes on here, I combine some of the reviewers suggestions with my own ideas to suit my tastes. With this one, I substituted quinoa for couscous. It's got more nutrients and doesn't have wheat in it. I started with adding the salt, cumin, and quinoa to the 3 cups water and brought it to a boil. Then, turned down the heat to simmer for 10 minutes. While that was cooking, I sauteed 3 cloves of garlic, onion, 1 green capsicum, jalapeno, 1 can of corn, and 1 can of beans. Then I added it to the quinoa and mixed in the cilantro and lime juice. I used 2 limes because I'm a big ole fan of it. It works great for lunch at college. It transports well and is still excellent cold.

Like another reviewer suggested I subbed quinoa for couscous. A big hit at a summertime potluck!

Good recipe...cook couscous in vegetable broth for a little more season/flavor!

While very similar to Paula's black bean and couscous salad, this is by FAR the superior choice! Both my hubs and I REALLY enjoyed this fresh summer salad! My hubs grumbled about there being too many beans in this, but happily ate two helpings lol. :) I prefer this over Paula's recipe for two reasons. First and foremost, Paula's salad is VERY dry. It calls for two cans of beans (a bit overkill, IMHO) which explains why it's so terribly dry. Finally, Paula omits one very important step. You MUST rinse your beans! If you don't, you'll end up with gray colored couscous. This won't affect the taste, but will leave you with an visually unappealing salad. Other than doubling the amount of lime juice (perfect!), I made no changes - and I never will. This salad is well-balanced, texturally pleasing and flavorful. My only complaint is that this loses a bit of its luster after being refrigerated. I find that this is best served at room temperature, but that's just my $.02. Served alongside Key West chicken, this made for a very satisfying yet light springtime meal. Thanks for sharing this recipe with the AR community, YucatanToday! :-)

Wonderful dish for an adventurous palate. Would be great to pack in your lunchbox to take to work and eat it cold. I left the jalapeno and onion off of one portion for my 2 year old, and he liked it! I was surprised that one reviewer said this was a littler under-seasoned. I thought the flavor was very spicy, rich and complex. I especially like recipes that don't require a lot of prep time, so this is a good recipe to whip up relatively quickly and still have something healthy.

Great salad!

This is one of my very favorites! The ingredients are perfect just as they are. W@W!

This is and feels so healthy and good to eat. I had garden fresh frozen corn so I used that and cooked my own black beans. Also used more lime juice as others recommended.

This looks wonderful. I think I may try it using sour orange juice instead of lime juice, or use half lime, half orange juice, in keeping with true Mayan flavors.

I very nice change from our usual couscous! I went ahead and sauteed the onion with the garlic so my 7 yr old would eat it, (she hates raw onions). Great flavors!

WAY too salty. Could be good with about half the salt, but still not too impressive.

Pretty good. I like the heat of jalapenos but not the specific flavor of them (unless it's mostly covered up by other stuff) so left those out and just tossed in a bit of cayenne to put some kick back in it. Unlike many, I would never cook the onion because I don't like cooked onion in most things and preferred it stay uncooked and crunchy. I did follow the instructions but I see no reason to not just cook the couscous in a pan the normal method - seems easier, and I could use the same pan for everything. I liked this best cooled down a bit but still freshly made. Nice blend of flavors. I refrigerated some to take to work - didn't like it as well cold but it was still an easy thing to take to work and that's always a bonus.

This was fantastic! I didn't have to tweak it at all, which I think says a lot about a recipe. Very flavorful and good for you!

Excellent--4 stars just because I made a few changes. I used a full teaspoon of cumin, 2 cloves of garlic (TOTALLY worth cooking them with skin on before chopping up!), and two serrano peppers instead of the jalapeño (I'm a chilihead, so I love things spicy). As per other reviewers' suggestions, I also browned the red onion a little in a splash of olive oil, and I simmered the chopped garlic, already-browned onion, corn, beans, pepper, and cilantro together for a couple minutes before combining with the couscous--this really brought out the flavors. I only used a drizzle of olive oil to finish (maybe a tablespoon and a half?), and I doubled the amount of lime juice (CRUCIAL CHANGE!). Even without these modifications (except the one with the lime juice), this would be a fantastic light dish; I just tweaked a bit to my own taste.

I wasn't crazy about this. I think 1/4 cup cilantro was a bit overpowering for my taste.. However, it was still tasty and my husband liked it.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe!!!! I make it all the time when i make tacos and then i use the leftovers during the week as a salad and just add some grilled chicken to it. so so good!!!!

Everyone I have served this dish to has asked for the recipe. I do add a little more red onion and cilantro. It is easy to make and goes with every meat I eat, lamb, beef or chicken. Children seem to like this dish as well.

This is really delicious! The only thing I did differently was brown the onions in some olive oil and leave out the cilantro since I didn't have any on hand. Its great for lunch; thanks for a tasty new way to use up black beans!

This is quite a tasty dish! My husband, a picky meat & potatoes man even liked it! I made it as is, tasted it, then added about 1/4 cup of raisins. Delightful!

Good. A little dry, though.

This recipe is absolutely delicious. I will confess that I cut the cumin in half (we're not big fans of it in the first place), and I doubled the garlic. Beyond that I served the recipe as described, and we all fell in love with it. We served it chilled as a side to grilled pork chops, and it was perfect.

Awesome recipe! Had a box of Trader Joe's whole wheat couscous that I didn't know what to do with.....it was perfect for this recipe. Followed recipe exactally but only had dried cilantro. Will definitely make this one again!

This was really easy and very tasty. May say this is the best tasting couscous dish I've had or made. The only difference is I used green onions since I didn't have red on hand. Will make this again!

Fantastic. Definitely make sure you add the full amount of lime juice, as it truly does make the dish. I love every ingredient in here, except I had no jalap on hand...though I'm sure it would have tasted even better with it. Really easy to make, will be making again in the future!

This is a pretty good salad that can be tasty with any kind of beans. When I made it for the second time, I added tomato, it tasted much better.

This is out of this world! Great, healthy dish with amazing flavors. I used parsley instead of cilantro (bought it by accident) but it came out amazing. I will be bringing this to the next party I attend, I imagine it is wonderful cold as well. Thank you SO much for sharing this.

This was so good. Best couscous I have ever had, loved the flavor.

Very good. But next time only use two servings.

These flavors compliment each other very well! I was a little short on time so I didn't roast the garlic, just minced it raw. I also used several jarred jalapenos since I didn't have a fresh one on hand. With these small changes it still turned out great.

Really delicious just the way the recipe reads. :)

I LOVE THIS DISH!

This was really good. I used a southwest blend of frozen vegetables that already had onion and pepper in it so I left those out. I only used one tablespoon of olive oil because we don't like oily food. I used two cloves of garlic.

nice and tasty

Delicious! Great flavor combinations. This recipe is a crowd pleaser. I will absolutely make this one again.

try it, you'll like it

Tasted great after first making. Lacked flavor when eaten cold later on.

I'm not a huge couscous fan but this recipe is great! Very tasty and easy to make! I didn't have fresh cilantro on hand so I added dried. I also used chicken broth instead of just water for the couscous! My 14 month old son enjoyed it too! Thanks for sharing!

Absolutely a beautiful dish! All the flavors go so well together. We made this dish last night because my daughter had been begging me to make coucous, but it needed a little flare and this was definitley it! My husband couldn't stop going back to the bowl! We truly enjoyed this dish!

its was a bit tasteless

I am not really a fan of Cilantro (tastes soapy to me) so I substituted fresh parsley and a bit of dried Cilantro. As to the Couscous I used the same amount of salt and olive oil I normally use which is less than noted. I used half water and chicken stock. I used fresh corn and more than the noted lime juice (to my taste).

Very delicious. I added jalapenos for some more kick.

This was good. It was REALLY good before adding the lime/oil "dressing." The amounts are way too much, I think. I used 2 T of lime and oil, and it still made my couscous mushy. Also, I used 2 cloves of garlic, and could have used more.

This was pretty tasty. The jalepeno paired nicely with everything.

Absolutely wonderful. What a delicious change from rice or potatoes. I made this exactly as written and it turned out perfectly. we had it as a side with fish one night and what was left over I stuffed into Cornish Game Hens. FABULOUS!

What an interesting, yummy flavor combo! Will be making again!

Fantastic Recipe! I made this for a family event and everyone was amazed at how good this was. My girlfriend won't quit asking me to make this when an event occurs. I followed the recipe exactly except for I added serrano peppers and it was great. Thanks for the recipe!

So absolutely good!!! I did add a little beef bullion to the couscous water and about 2 Tbs of Taco seasoning to the whole dish. Great to use for meatless tacos or just by itself!

Really enjoyed this, but it seems like something is missing that I can't quite put a finger on...a little more spice? Used whole wheat couscous and opted to cook my own beans with a lamb bone rather than using canned. May make this again and play with the recipe a little.

Very tasty. My husband who is a very picky eater loved it. This is a keeper.

Made a couple of variations that resulted ina dish that my whole family enjoyed. I started by not adding the salt and cumin to my cooking water. I cooked the couscous in water and added 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin in with the lime juice and olive oil. This was plenty of salt and the dressing covered everything nicely. Out of necessity I substituted black eyed instead of black beans and it was really a great combination. I think I would stick with the black eyed peas in the future. We will definately be making this dish again, it would we a great dish to take to work for lunch.

My vegan Co-worker brought this into work for a holiday pot luck and it is DELICIOUS!!!!

Loved this couscous. I used shallots instead of red onion, heated frozen corn instead of canned, fresh lime juice, and I topped it with avocado and sliced boiled eggs for some extra fat and protein. I also don't do the plastic wrap thing and it turns out fine. I'm about to make it again this week, very healthy and filling. I may try it with quinoa soon.

Unique taste, very colorful. Compliments a fish dish really well. Would make this again.

Delicious! This is an amazing dish. I made it once with Israeli couscous and once with quinoa. I prefer it with the Israeli couscous. Love the fresh, crisp flavors of the onion, pepper, and cilantro. Can't wait to serve it to guests or bring to a potluck.

Very yummy! I used fresh corn though, and in my opinion, that really made the recipe! Also, I used whole wheat Israeli couscous just because that's what I had on hand. Couldn't stop eating it!

This is a good base for a black bean and couscous salad. I used less salt (too taste) added more garlic,cumin and lime juice and felt it was still missing something. Some red bell pepper would be a good addition.

I could eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Tastes best slightly warm or at room temperature.

This is by far my favourite couscous recipe. I kept the red onion raw as the recipe states, which I think gives it a lovely sweet crunch (just make sure you chop the onion finely as it states. I also added an extra tbsp of lime (works out at approx 2 limes or 1/4 cup of lime juice), and I added twice the amount of cumin. I also added one chicken stock cube to the boiling water, but you could use vegetable stock. I think stock instead of plain water really helps flavor the couscous up. I swapped the black beans for black eyed beans as thats what I had in, and used a scotch bonnet instead of a jalapeno as thats what we grow at home. It really is a delicious recipe, well worth making often and having in for meals like tagine, lamb or even alone as a lunch.

The garlic sets it off. I suggest two cloves. I also added roasted pine nuts and finely chopped tomatoes which added to the flavor and color presentation.

Delicious! I added red bell pepper to get a nice rainbow of colours. Very easy to make and relatively fast too.

I have made this several times as written. My husband and I love it. This is one of our favorite recipes to make for a side or its makes for a quick easy lunch. It stores well in the fridge and is even better cold. Thanks for sharing.

First dish I've made with couscous. Everyone liked it and 2 people asked for the recipe! Substituted some chopped red papper for the jalpeno. Extra lime juice is good on this! Will make it again for sure.

Oh My Goodness!! This is fantastic!! I can't stop eating it. It tastes very fresh with the cilantro and lime. This is the first time I have ever taken the time to write a review. You MUST try this recipe:D

This is pretty good. I think next time I'll double the black beans because we like them so much, and I might try sauteing the onions as others suggested.

We love it!

I did not even know if I would like couscous as it had been years since I had eaten it. This recipe is absolutely delicious and I have not even added the cumin and lime juice. Outstanding

Pretty good. This can be a side dish or light meal by itself. I made few changes to use what was availible. I used green onions for red, frozen corn for canned and garlic powder for fresh garlic. Also, I had a handful of cherry tomatoes, a Persian cucumber and 1 avocado that needed to be used, so I added them too.

This was absolutely delightful. I adjusted the recipe since I made the whole box of couscous so I pretty much tripled all the other ingredients. I also used beef broth instead of water. My husband could not stop talking about this dish. We had leftovers and ate it two days later and it tasted even better. I will definitely be making this again, and again. It is a keeper in our house. Thanks for the recipe!

Yucatan Today, what a sublime recipe. Kudos to you, my change and ever so slight, I skipped the Jalapeño and went with two Thai chilies. Buen provecho

Awesome! Followed the recipe exactly. This will be on my once a week menu.

This was bland needs some kind of spice other then cumin

Delicious! I served with a grilled steak and "simple and delicious beet greens" the only change was using frozen corn that I cooked quick in the microwave. It tasted a lot like a cold black bean salad.

Fabulous! Healthy! Light! Easy to make and inexpensive! Goes with everything and can be a side or a main dish, great warm and cold. Couldn't possibly ask for more in one recipe!

Delicious! Reduced amount of olive oil and it still turned out great. Also, I used pinto beans because they were what I had on hand. Enjoy !

Really good! This one is a keeper!

Subtle, but very good taste.

This was really good! This was my 1st time making or even tasting couscous for that matter. Other than eliminating the olive oil (fat/cal reasons) i followed the recipe as written. This is a definite keeper.

I love it cold!

I included 1 shallot instead of the red onion and added edamame for extra protein. This recipe is easy and yummy.

This is my go-to side dish. I can make it fairly quickly and it's good hot or cold. Follow the instructions pretty closely-- the seasoning is perfect if made right.

This turned out great the first time, and is so easy to make with the directions given. Nice combination of refreshing lime and heat from the jalepeno. Enjoyed it with tequilia lime shrimp- another (all)recipe. Thanks!

I made this delicious recipe as directed except sautéed the onions first. I also just covered the couscous with the pot lid instead of the plastic wrap as directed. SO good! Looking forward to making it again!

I added some feta cheese and avocado on top

So good and very easy to make. Love it!

Delicious

Love this! It tastes amazing as is. But sometimes I do add half a chopped red pepper and some feta cheese to take it over the top. SO delicious.

Very tasty. I didn't have the jalapeño handy, so I tossed in some of my favorite hot sauce, Tabasco! Also, I added some color and extra crunch by adding some half a red bell pepper and half a green bell pepper. I would consider this amount SIGNIFICANTLY more than just 4 servings! I would make this again.

This is just beautiful. Not the last time I'll be making this dish!