Warm Feelings for a Cold Meal

By Dara O’Brien
Creative Director, Lake Isle Press

I am crossing a line. Into salad country.

It’s not that I don’t like main course salads—especially a good niçoise (without olives, of course), a bean salad of any kind, or a tasty chicken curry salad. I will definitely eat a salad as an entree, but when I have options I’ll seldom choose one over a hot meal. And the salads I like best are those that don’t feature leafy greens as a main ingredient.

I assumed a preference for warm food is a natural urge, but is it? Cue Google. Why, yes, it is. And various sources suggest a few reasons why.

One of those reasons is that hot food gives off more of an aroma, and smell relates to taste. Another is that cooked foods are easier to digest (although I guess that is also true for these foods when they cool. And yet we reheat.)

I also read that heat alters a food’s flavor balance; things taste differently when they are cooked. Many tastes, like sweet, sour, and umami, intensify with cooking. And I will add that heat also alters texture, another key factor in our enjoyment of food.

So it seems I’m hardwired to prefer warm food over cold food. But after trying this Couscous Confetti Salad with Tuna recipe, I feel compelled to nominate it right alongside, say, mac and cheese or fried rice as a standard comfort meal. The recipe is by Toni Lydecker from her book “Piatto Unico” published by Lake Isle Press. And while technically this dish is served at room temperature rather than cold, it is not a hot meal. But it eats like one.

The couscous, after all, is cooked. The veggies are all cut really small, so they blend in quite seamlessly. The arugula is secondary, more of a condiment than a carrier, and not crunchy. The tuna has a texture not unlike cooked chicken. But since I have been consciously working to break away from the meat and potatoes diet I grew up on, I count my enthusiasm for any meal that incorporates greens and raw veggies as a small victory.

I followed the recipe closely, but not to the letter. Since a cup and a half of couscous seemed like a lot to me, I cut it to one cup. I used a 5 oz can of tuna at first, but ended up adding a second one to the leftovers. I made sure to add a little oil from the can of tuna to the dressing as the recipe suggests, which adds a nice depth of flavor, and might be something to consider with other tuna salads. After that I eyeballed the quantity of veggies I used, and threw in some red peppers as the notes suggested. While I included capers, I left out the olives, because I say no to olives and probably always will. How do people eat those things?

Even after adjusting the recipe, I had a lot of food in front of me. I dressed only what I was ready to eat and popped the rest and the extra dressing in the fridge. The next day I dressed what I had left to share with a friend for lunch—it was still perfectly fresh. (My friend gave it a thumbs up, too.) I still had some leftovers the next night for dinner. Since I had dressed it the day before, I wondered if the final round would be a little soggy. Nope. Third time still the charm.

I love that this salad not only has the mouth feel of a warm meal, but stays fresh for days and retains its texture without getting soggy, even with dressing added to it. I may not be moving to salad country, but with meals like this I’ll be visiting a lot more often.

Couscous Confetti Salad with Tuna Recipe

Click here for printable recipe.

Makes 4 servings | Prep 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups instant couscous
1 heaping tablespoon capers, preferably salt cured
1 1/4 cups cherry tomatoes
4 scallions, including some of the tender green parts,
1/3 cup Nocellara olives or other Mediterranean olives
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste
Hot red pepper flakes
1 (6 1/2- to 7-ounce) can good-quality tuna packed in olive oil
6 cups firmly packed baby arugula or other microgreens

PREPARATION

Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Put the couscous in a medium bowl and pour the boiling water over it, making sure the grains are immersed. Cover and let stand for at least 5 minutes. Place the capers in a small bowl and cover with cold water; let stand for several minutes and drain. If the capers are large, coarsely chop them; if small, leave them whole. Quarter the tomatoes. Cut the scallions in half lengthwise and thinly slice them crosswise. Pit the olives and cut into slivers.
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and red pepper flakes to taste in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup; add about a tablespoon of olive oil from the can of tuna. Whisk to form an emulsion.
Fluff the couscous with a fork, gently breaking up clumps. Add the lemon dressing and mix gently but thoroughly. Flake the tuna into the bowl by rubbing the chunks between your fingers. Add the tomatoes, scallions, olives, and capers. Mix well.
To serve: Scatter the greens around the edges of broad shallow bowls or dinner plates. Mound the couscous salad in the center.

Notes:

Colorful raw or roasted bell peppers, cut confetti style, would be good in this salad.
In place of the hot pepper flakes, finely chop a fresh hot pepper; spicy-sweet pickled peppers such as peppadews are another alternative.
Good-quality jarred or canned mackerel or diced roast chicken could be substituted for the tuna.