Broccoli and Couscous Paprika Salad

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Mom and I are doing a recipe together. This is the lighter side

So we do have some dishes that are traditionally Southern, that there's just no way around it

If you're cooking traditional Southern food, you're going to use some things that, you know, are..

That we all love. That we do love, and they're delicious. Like mayonnaise. And cream and butter and ham hocks and things like that

You know, that might be a Sunday meal, and this is a fantastic Tuesday or Wednesday meal

Plus, it's summertime, and you want lighter things. It's a nod to my brother as well

He's the one that started our family on this whole couscous thing

May I stick this in here while you're... Now, Mom likes to do this with the handles down

That helps her steam. I usually cut it. Handles up. Now you have to cut it when it's hot

But you can do it that way if you want. I usually cut it ahead of time. You can do it either way you want

We got one cup of couscous that we're going to put in this water. And I'm going to put a splash of oil

I've seen people say that that's a wives' tale and it doesn't work. But it works for me, so I'm going to keep doing it

Just to keep everything from... And what does that do, son? It keeps it from sticking together. So this is a couscous, and we're using smoked paprika

So this will take about four minutes in here probably and it gonna soak up all the water So while that working we got our broccoli steamed Now for me it done What do you think OK I with you When it turns color when it gets to be this bright green color

there's nothing worse. Because you're planning on cutting most of the stems off, right

Soggy broccoli is a bummer. I love mine still crunchy. See, I just love it, just sticking it in, you know, hole like that

Perfect, Mom. I don't know. It's just easy to me, Jamie. And, you know, I'm into making things easy

Well, lots of folks are. What Brooke and I look for a meal, we want it to taste good

It has to be a little bit healthier. But affordability and easy is huge for us

because there's not enough time in the day. And if it's more expensive to eat at home, why not just go out

So everything that we do is kind of affordable, and this is very easy, too. That cooks itself

This only takes a couple of minutes. We've got some arugula, and we're going to toss all this together

in a really big bowl. Oh, this is nice, son. We've got some currants here

You know what a currant is? It's a $5 word to say raisin

It's a little bitty, tiny raisin is all it is. But they're kind of small

so I'm going to add a little bit of hot water. This helps plump them up

Yes. And I'm also going to put a little dash. Are you ready for this hot broccoli on your lettuce

or you want it to cool? I'll just let it sit there for a minute. I've also got some sherry. And Sherry's gonna cut the acidity of it a little bit

and it's also gonna help it plump up. So I just gonna let these sit for a second You already got some hot water in it I do I got a little bit in there I don want it real watery Let see Maybe one more A little bit to get it covered

When I'm making, like, oatmeal cookies, Jamie, I always put my raisins in hot water

because I like those raisins to really plump up in my cookie

All right, what are you going to do with your lemon? Is this zest? Look how fast that came done

Oh, my gosh. That's amazing how quick. Would you like for me to be zesting this

Sure, you can zest it right there. And how much do you need? You can do the whole lemon, and we're going to use a squirt of that, too

Okay. We've got one teaspoon of our smoked paprika. I'm going to put this in your mouth

Can you tell a big difference between the smoked and regular? More than you would think

Really? I think the regular paprika is more for just, like, a color. It doesn't have a whole lot of flavor

Yeah, that's what I use it for. But this smoke. That's got a good flavor to it

You know, like I said, I use it for color, like on my deviled eggs. Let's get our broccoli in

That's good. Whoa. We'll throw in a lemon. Just a whole lemon

I love pine nuts. Pine nuts really go with it. I love pine nuts

All right, now how much juice do you want from this, son? Just squeeze the whole thing

Because lemon tastes so fresh and delicious, it adds another layer of flavor

It is one of the best things that you can add to any kind of salad or fresh vegetable Did you yield any of your Meyer lemons I did This winter Yep we got a bunch of them Oh you did Aren they just the greatest lemons in the whole entire world

And then remember it got so cold, my tree froze. And so I cut it back

And it's just now started to grow, so I hope I get some more this year. Well, hopefully you'll get some lemons

I lost two of my Meyer lemon trees this past winter from the frost

There may be a few lemon seeds down in there, son. Oh, that's all right

But it looks like the pine nuts, so... It'll be all right

You worked that lemon like it was the last one on Earth. Ooh, gosh, that looks good

Doesn't that look awesome? It does look awesome. So the thing about this is, Mom

this says less calories than that chocolate cupcake. It's 240 calories. This is only $1.82 a serving, y'all

so if you're looking for something fresh, easy, and affordable for your family, the broccoli and smoked paprika is a great place to start

Just watch out for the lemon seeds. That pine gut tasted a lot like a lemon seed

But that little bit of salt with that lemon? Oh, nuts. What did you do, son

I got a mess to clean up, y'all. Thanks for checking in with us. We'll see you next time

Mama, hand me a napkin, will ya? I think you're still living at home, y'all

Thank you