Whole Wheat Couscous Salad with Persimmon, Grapes, and Pine Nuts

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup whole wheat couscous
• 1 cup chicken stock, or vegetarian stock
• 2 tsp. olive oil + 1 T olive oil for dressing
• 2 Fuyu persimmons, peeled and diced into pieces about 1/2 inch square
• 1 cup purple seedless grapes, washed and sliced into round pieces
• 1/3 cup sliced green onion, mostly green parts
• 1/3 cup finely chopped mint
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• Pinch of ground cumin
• Salt to taste for seasoning couscous
• 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts

Directions

1. Pour the chicken stock into a small saucepan with a snug lid, add 2 tsp. olive oil, and bring it up to a boil. Once it is bubbling, mix in the couscous, put the lid on, and leave it alone for 5-10 minutes. Take off the lid, loosen the couscous with a fork, and set it aside to cool. If you are using quinoa instead, cook it the way the package tells you to.
2. As the couscous cooks and cools, get the rest ready. Cut the persimmons from stem end to bottom, peel them, and dice them into 1/2 inch pieces. Rinse and dry the grapes if they need it, then cut them crosswise into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. Slice the green onions thinly, then rinse, dry, and finely chop the mint.
3. Add the diced persimmon, grape slices, green onions, and mint to a bowl large enough for everything else.
4. In a small bowl, whisk the 1T olive oil with the lemon juice, lemon zest, and a pinch of ground cumin. Spoon this over the cooled couscous and stir until it is evenly coated, then taste and add salt if you think it needs it.
5. Transfer the couscous into the bowl with the persimmon and grapes, and fold everything together gently.
6. Set the pine nuts in a dry pan and warm them for 1-2 minutes, only until a little color starts to show here and there. Add them to the salad and toss once more. Serve at room temperature.