Skip to main content

Confetti Couscous Primavera Salad

Throwing together a couscous salad is quick and easy, ultimately flexible and forgiving, and finally satisfying as a meal.  Add some drained canned beans if you like - or whatever your stores might have to offer to make it your own.


Dressing:

2 cloves garlic, minced through press

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper


1 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup couscous


1 large yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 red pepper, diced

1 red Fresno (or green Jalapeño) pepper halved, seeded and sliced

1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen


1/2 English cucumber, diced

1/2 small red onion, diced

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (I used both red and orange)

1/3 cup Feta cheese, crumbled


Fresh cilantro leaves for garnish


Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.


Set the water, salt and butter to a boil in a medium saucepan. When boiling, add couscous and stir.  Cover and remove from heat.  Allow couscous to absorb all the water, about 5-10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and allow to cool to room temperature, uncovered.

Meanwhile, sauté the squash, peppers and corn in a dash if olive oil. Cook over medium-high heat until starting to brown about the edges, but still only crisp-tender.  Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature.

Toss cooled couscous and satuéed veggies in a bowl. Add cucumber, onion and tomatoes, and dressing.  Toss to mix well. Tip into a serving bowl and garnish with the Feta and cilantro.


Serves 4 as a main course, or 6-8 as a side.


Cook’s Note: I prefer (as almost always) to use fresh cheese and then grate or crumble when needed.  Grated and crumbled cheese almost always spoils quicker because of more rapid access to air, and also usually contains annoying anti-clumping agents like silica (like fine sand) which hinder melting. And who wants to eat silica (even though it’s probably not bad for you).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Umami Beef Short Ribs Samin Nosrat

This is the penultimate prep for beef short ribs.  Based on the superb documentary by Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, this is the most umami rib dish you will ever have.  Its the combination of red miso and soy sauce that marinates and flavors the beef - give it a long time to work right - that means overnight in the fridge; it's worth the planning ahead. 6 beef short ribs on the bone, about 3-4 lb 1 large sweet yellow onion, diced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 jalapeño pepper, minced 4 cloves garlic, halved Marinade: 1/4 cup red miso 1/4 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup pale dry sherry or Mirin rice wine 1 Tbsp sesame oil 1 Tbsp honey 2 cloves garlic, minced Salt the ribs generously with coarse salt and let rest overnight in the refrigerator in a resealable plastic bag. Whisk together the marinade.   Pour into the plastic bag and allow to marinate on the counter for about 2-3 hours, or again overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat...

Vinaigrette Erique 2.0

From the archives:  Making a really, really good vinaigrette has been a craft in my family, and in my in-law family for generations. My late uncle, Jeannot, and Father-in-law, Bernard, (both best of friends) were each geniuses at the vinaigrette. And they both taught me. I have to say my siblings along with my sisters and brothers in-law do really now carry on the tradition as I strive to as well.  In our family cookbook "Cuisine Encore" I published my go-to vinaigrette - a basic version taught to me by my French mother, Monique.  It's great, yet I have been looking for something slightly more modern and upbeat.  So I merged Asian rice vinegar into the mix along with fresh (not powdered) garlic with the Dijon mustard, and toned down the salt. Make it your own. I now have what I think is an even better basic vinaigrette, today. Talk to you tomorrow! 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar 1 generous tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup ca...

Baked Grouper with Mushroom Wine Sauce

Fresh fish baked in a creamy mushroom sauce is always a rich reward after a hard day's work. 3/4 lb grouper (or other favorite white fish) cut into 2 portions Sauce: 2 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup onion, very finely diced 2 cloves garlic, minced through a press 1/3 cup pale dry sherry or dry white wine 1/3 cup half and half or cream 1 Tbsp corn starch 1 4-oz can mushrooms, drained and liquid reserved Preheat oven to 375F.  Sauté the onions in the butter, in a sauce pan for about 8-10 minutes, until slightly caramelized.  Add the garlic and cook for about 2 more minutes.  Add the sherry and half and half, and bring to a gentle boil. Whisk together the mushroom liquid with the cornstarch in a small bowl.  Whisk this mixture into the boiling sauce until thickened.  Add mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste.   Adjust thickness with wine, water or chicken broth if necessary, or allow sauce to thicken more by reducing slightly. Lay...