Pearl Couscous Summer Salad

Yield: 3-4 people as a side

This salad is perfect to use up all of the summer vegetables from your neighborhood bundles! It’s best served chilled, and perfect to bring to a picnic.

These are the veggies I had from the farm, but you can also add your own favorite ingredients such as olives and feta for more of a mediterranean twist, or add some bell pepper, spinach, or cooked zucchini. The pearl couscous + herbs + olive oil mixture is a nice foundation for whatever veggie combinations you want to put together!

Here it goes:

1 cup Israeli couscous (I used Bob’s Red Mill Tri-color Pearl Couscous)

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup cherry tomato diced

1 cup arugula

1/2 cucumber peeled, seeded, and diced

1 handful of parsley minced

5-7 fresh mint leaves minced

2 tbsp red onion minced

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + 1 tbsp for toasting couscous

1 lemon juiced

1 tsp honey

salt

pepper

In a pan over medium heat, toast couscous for 3-5 minutes with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Meanwhile, bring 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock to a boil in a pot. Transfer couscous to stock, return to a boil then cover and simmer on low for approximately 15 minutes, until couscous has absorbed the stock and is tender.

In a large bowl combine tomato, arugula, cucumber, herbs, and onion. In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, honey, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper.

Once the couscous is done, add it to the vegetables and pour the olive oil dressing on top. Give it a stir, and I recommend chilling before serving!

Compost scraps produced:

Enjoy Neighbor!