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white serving bowl filled with salad ingredients for loaded fresh basil couscous green salad

Loaded Fresh Basil and Sweet Corn Couscous Green Salad

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

Fresh Basil Dressing:

  • ½ cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
  • ½ cup mayonnaise (see note)
  • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons chopped shallot or green onion
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Pinch black pepper

Salad:

  • 1 box (5.8 ounces) roasted garlic and olive oil couscous (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 ¼ cups chicken broth
  • 12-15 cups chopped romaine lettuce (see note)
  • 6-8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled or chopped
  • 1 cup dried cranberries or cherries
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (thaw frozen corn before using)
  • ½ cup freshly grated or peeled Parmesan cheese (see note)
  • ½ cup toasted pine nuts

Instructions 

  • For the dressing: combine all the ingredients in a blender together and process until smooth. Refrigerate until needed. Dressing can be made several days in advance (flavor gets better with time).
  • For the salad: make the couscous by bringing the chicken broth and olive oil to a simmer in a saucepan on the stovetop. Stir in the couscous and the seasoning packet (if using the roasted garlic variety). Cover the saucepan and let sit for 5-7 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool to room temperature before using.
  • In a large serving bowl, add the romaine lettuce, cooled couscous, cranberries, bacon, cheese, corn, and pine nuts.
  • Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine (or serve dressing on the side).

Notes

Mayo: the mayo helps bind the dressing so it doesn't separate (and so it isn't too thin). I often use the full 1/2 cup mayo but sometimes I use 1/4 cup mayo + 1/4 cup sour cream.
Couscous: If you can't find or don't want to use roasted garlic couscous from a box, you can use bulk or bagged Moroccan (small) couscous without any seasonings. Use about 3/4 cup. Bring 1 1/4 cup chicken broth to a simmer, add the couscous + 1/2 teaspoon salt, stir, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous and let cool completely before using.
Romaine: you'll need about 3-4 romaine hearts (like the ones at Costco) or 1-2 large heads of romaine.
Parmesan: I like to use a vegetable peeler and peel off shreds of Parmesan but it can also be freshly grated (use the large holes of a box grater).
Pine Nuts: I use this easy microwave method for toasting the pine nuts for this salad.