Couscous Salad

Couscous Salad-Couscous a grain made from rolled semolina wheat and very popular in Middle Eastern dishes. It’s very versatile; although on its own it’s bland in taste it can be flavoured in variety of different ways to suit the dish. It makes a beautiful and delicious salad or it can be served as a substitute for rice with any vegetable dish.
I first tried this salad whilst on holiday in Greece at a quaint Turkish Cypriot restaurant and since then it’s become a firm family favourite.

Ingredients

1 cup dry instant couscous (will yield 2.5 cups when cooked)
2 inch piece cucumber diced
1 tomato deseeded and diced
2 spring onions finely sliced
1 small carrot grated
1/4 red pepper finely diced
1/4 green pepper finely diced
8 seedless grapes cut in halves
1 tablespoon jalapeno peppers in brine (bottled)
1 tablespoon fresh chopped coriander
4 lemon wedges for garnishing

Dressing:

Juice of 1/2 a lime
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce (hot red pepper sauce)

Method:

1. Make up the instant couscous as per packet instructions. Once couscous is ready, fluff it up with a fork and leave to cool.
2. In a jar with a lid add all the dressing ingredients plus 1 tablespoon brine from the jalapeno peppers. Shake and keep a side.
3. Add the dressing to the cooled couscous and stir in.
4. Mix together the diced cucumber, tomato, carrots and spring onions and peppers and the grapes. Stir in the flavoured couscous and toss together.
5. Transfer the couscous salad to a serving platter and sprinkle on top the jalapeno peppers and coriander.
Serve immediately with hot crusty bread or pitta bread and lemon wedges.

You may like:

Garden Salad with Italian herb dressing.

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