ISRAELI COUSCOUS SALAD

ISRAELI COUSCOUS SALAD

ISRAELI COUSCOUS SALAD

Amy Hunter

Since I work at home, I rarely eat out for lunch. Depending on how busy I am, sometimes lunch is nothing more than a few crackers, some cheese, and fruit. It could also be a full meal.


Sometimes, like with this recipe, I just make something out of odds and ends in my fridge. It doesn’t always work, but in this case it did.


After scanning my fridge, I had the following: roasted mixed veggies from last nights dinner, some fresh herbs that needed used or thrown out now, and some cooked lentils from a soup I made a couple days ago.


I needed something to tie it all together, so I checked the pantry. Dried fruit? Okay. A grain. Brown rice? Nah, takes too long to cook. How about Israeli couscous? Cooks in less than 10 minutes. Perfect.


If you’ve never had Israeli couscous, it’s got a kind of chewy, pasta like texture. Also like pasta, it goes with almost anything, so throw some in a stir-fry or soup, or eat it on the side of your favorite protein instead of rice.


For a dressing, I combined some Ava Jane’s Kitchen extra-virgin avocado oil, lemon juice, a splash of cider vinegar, mustard, and some spices. Tossed it all in a bowl, and I had a gourmet tasting lunch in less than 15 minutes, for a fraction of the cost of takeout. To make it extra fast, just roast up a big batch of veggies for dinner and save half for lunch the next day.


I might make this again for dinner and leave out the lentils, but add grilled fish. It would make a perfect summer side dish, especially if you used whatever vegetables are in season.

Ingredients

    Salad

    • 1 bell pepper, diced
    • 1 red onion, diced
    • 1 zucchini, diced
    • 1 carrot, diced
    • 2 tablespoons Ava Jane’s Kitchen extra-virgin avocado oil
    • 1/2 cup Israeli couscous
    • 3/4 cup broth or water
    • 1/2 cup cooked lentils
    • 1/4 cup dried fruit (raisins, apricots, cranberries)
    • 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
    • 1 small bunch fresh mint, chopped
    • 1 small bunch chives, chopped

    Dressing

    • 1/4 cup  Ava Jane’s Kitchen extra-virgin avocado oil
    • Juice of 1 lemon
    • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
    • 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    • 1 teaspoon honey
    • 1 clove garlic, minced
    • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
    • 1/2 teaspoon Colima Sea Salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

    Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
    2. Toss the vegetables with the avocado oil and a pinch of salt and lay on a baking sheet. Roast for 20-30 minutes, until browned and tender. Remove and cool.
    3. While the veggies are roasting, put the couscous and broth in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes.
    4. Put the veggies, couscous, lentils, dried fruit, and herbs in a large bowl.  Put the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined. Toss with the salad. Chill if desired, or serve at room temperature.
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