A different green, grain salad

Try today’s recipe for a variation on tabbouleh, the traditional Mediterranean green-and-grain salad.

This recipe is different as well as delicious, with the addition of a few nontraditional spices — and it’s a great way to slip some of that nutritious wonder-grain, quinoa, into your diet.

Use extra-virgin olive oil — the kind you might keep on hand for extra-special finishing touches, rather than for daily cooking.

Get everything else ready while the grains cook (quinoa) and soak (couscous).

For a real time-saver, mince the parsley, mint and scallions together in a food processor.

Couscous-quinoa tabbouleh keeps well, tightly covered and refrigerated, for up to 5 days.

It goes well on a bed of greens, with any cold, garlic-laced eggplant salad or dip as a perfect first course, or as main course with some good lentil soup and toasted pita.

Couscous-quinoa tabbouleh

The preparation time is 30 minutes, plus time to cool and then to chill (15 minutes of work).

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 cup uncooked instant couscous

3/4 cup boiling water

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

2 cups (packed) minced fresh parsley (flat or curly-leaf)

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