Good Food, Good Life, 365 – Couscous Salad

Summer Couscous Salad

Healthful, easy to make and easy to tote to your next picnic

Ingredients:
Vinaigrette
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
6 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspooons minced shallot
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Salad
1 1/2 cups Israeli Couscous
1 1/2 cups water
2 large red tomatoes, diced
1 or 2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves, thick stems removed, sliced
1 cup red onion, diced
1 cup cucumber, diced
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place lemon juice, red wine vinegar, oil, mustard and honey in a small bowl. Whisk to blend. Add shallots, salt and pepper and whisk to blend. Set aside.

Place water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil, stir in couscous, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and dump into a large bowl. (Water will all be absorbed at this point.) Pour 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette over the hot couscous and stir to coat all of the couscous. Let cool to room temperature.

Add tomatoes, spinach, red onion, cucumber, pine nuts, tossing to combine. Drizzle vinaigrette over top and toss gently to coat. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Sue’s Tips:
If you are making the salad to serve the next day, leave out the pine nuts. Add them just before serving.
Feta cheese is a nice addition to this salad. Use about 6 ounces of crumbled feta, adding at serving time. Or, offer the feta at the table for diners to add if they wish.