Recipe: Couscous Cucumber Salad
July 31, 2024Recipes
Couscous is an incredibly fast-cooking grain (technically a type of pasta since it’s made from semolina wheat flour). Thanks to quick-cooking couscous, this recipe comes together in minutes and serves as a great make-ahead salad that holds up well in the fridge for several days. The vibrant flavors of this combo truly shine, from the lemon, roasted pepper, green onion, and basil, making it a wonderfully refreshing pairing to grilled chicken, pork, or fish. And you can’t beat the crunch of cucumbers as a quintessential element of freshness!
Couscous Cucumber Salad
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 C water
- 10 oz uncooked couscous
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 C lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
- 1 roasted red pepper, diced
- 1/2 C green onions, finely chopped
- 1/4 C basil, finely chopped
Directions
- In a medium saucepan, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Stir in couscous and cover.
- Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes (or according to package instructions). Cool to room temperature.
- While couscous is cooling, combine oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in cucumber, red pepper, green onions, and basil. Add couscous and mix well.
- Chill for at least 1 hour.
Swaps
- For the couscous: quinoa
- For the roasted red pepper: kalamata or Castelvetrano olives