Greek Couscous Salad

Fluffy couscous and crisp vegetables combine to make this fresh Greek Couscous Salad.

This is my first official summery recipe this year! It’s sort of like a pasta salad, but instead of pasta it’s packed with couscous–basically yummy little balls of goodness. Well, technically, couscous are small, steamed balls of semolina, aka the hard grains left after the milling of flour. It’s similar to rice, but a bit more doughy, but light and fluffy at the same time.

Preparing couscous takes no time at all. You boil water, add the couscous, remove from heat and cover with a lid, let it sit for five minutes, then fluff it with a fork.

Couscous originated from North Africa and a traditional version has meat with chickpeas and all kinds of veggies, like zucchini, peppers, carrots, and tomatoes. I actually had couscous when I visited Morocco at Epcot last January and it was amazing, so I can’t even imagine how delicious it is in Africa!

If you look at a map, you’ll see that Greece is just across the Mediterranean sea from Northern Africa (or across a few seas if you’re heading to Morocco) and today’s recipe combines the cuisine from both cultures! The salad is made of couscous mixed with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, olives, feta, dill, garlic, and a balsamic dressing.

One challenge with couscous is that it likes to soak up liquid, so I mix the dressing with the veggies first, then add the couscous and feta. It also helps to cool the couscous before adding it, which I mention in the recipe below. Other than that, basically all you have to do to make this salad is cook the couscous, cut the veggies, and add it all together with the dressing and herbs.

Take this Greek Couscous Salad to your next barbecue or picnic, and I’m sure everyone will become huge fans of couscous too!

Greek Couscous Salad

From The Small Town Foodie at https://www.thesmalltownfoodie.com/greek-couscous-salad/

https://www.thesmalltownfoodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GreekCouscousSalad4small.png

Prep: 15m

Total: 0h 15m

Fluffy couscous and crisp vegetables combine to make this fresh Greek Couscous Salad.

You'll Need...

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked couscous
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium cucumbers (or 4 mini cucumbers)
• 20-25 cherry tomatoes (about one small carton)
• 20 kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion (about 1/4 of an onion)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Add water and 1 tablespoon olive oil to a medium pot and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, stir in couscous, remove from heat, and cover.
3. Let sit for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
4. Put couscous in fridge while you prepare the rest of the salad.
5. Cut cucumbers into bite sized pieces, slice tomatoes and olives in half, and dice onion.
6. Add all vegetables to a large bowl. Add balsamic dressing, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, garlic, dill, and black pepper and mix well.
7. Add couscous and feta to veggies in dressing and mix together.
8. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Additional Notes

Adding the dressing to the veggies, then adding the couscous, keeps the couscous from soaking up all the dressing.
The dressing is very light. Feel free to add more balsamic if you'd like!

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