September 3, 2014

Israeli Couscous Salad with Summer Vegetables

Name: Israeli Couscous Salad with Summer Vegetables
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: mediterranean
Ingredients: 1 cup of Israeli couscous; 1 cup of water; 1/2 veggie bouillon cube – roughly chopped up; 1/4 red bell pepper – finely diced; 1/2 cucumber – peeled and seeded – finely diced; 1 cup of cherry tomatoes – sliced in half; 2 tbs red onion – minced; 1 handful of parsley – minced; 10 olives – roughly chopped; 2 oz of feta – diced; 3 tbs olive oil plus 1 tsp olive oil; 1 tbs red wine vinegar; 1 tsp honey – a small squeeze; 8 twists of black pepper from a pepper mill; A pinch of salt

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An easy, flavorful summer salad with a Mediterranean flair featuring Israeli couscous and chopped summer vegetables.

This Israeli couscous salad with summer vegetables is an easy, flavorful dish with a mediterranean flair.

It has sweet cherry tomatoes, cool cucumbers, crunchy red peppers, salty feta and olives. It’s tossed with a zesty red wine vinaigrette.

The salad comes together quickly – you prep the veggies as the Israeli couscous is cooking – and your dish is ready in about 20 minutes.

Israeli couscous – also called pearl couscous – is larger and chewier than regular couscous. In fact, Israeli couscous is really pasta.

It is a small, pearl shaped pasta that is toasted before cooking. Toasting the couscous gives it a lovely nutty flavor. I used Israeli couscous that I bought at Trader Joe’s.

Tips for making this recipe:

I used to skip the step of toasting the couscous and that was a mistake. By toasting the Israeli couscous, you give it a light nutty flavor that really enhances the recipe.
After toasting the couscous, you are going to be adding water to the pan – it will boil/bubble right away since the pan is hot. Be careful because it may splash up and splashing hot water is not good.
Once you add the water to the pan, turn down the heat to low right away. If you cook the couscous on medium or high heat, the couscous will end up being struck to the bottom of the pan.
This Israeli couscous salad with summer vegetables refrigerates really well. Make a little extra so you can bring it to work for lunch the next day.
I like to soak the red onion in a little water before mincing. This reduces the raw onion taste. So slice off a piece of onion and add it to a small bowl of water before you start dicing your other vegetables.

Looking for more family favorite recipes that are easy to make? Then try one of these:

Tomato, Cucumber, Avocado Salad – The number one reader favorite recipe on my site.
Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Spinach – Easy to make, packed with flavor and only uses one pot.
Ravioli with Asparagus and Walnuts – Readers love this recipe – quick, easy and tastes delicious.

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, come back and let me know by leaving a comment below!