Sometimes you want food to look as beautiful as it tastes and this salad totally fits that bill. Strawberry Israeli Couscous Salad is not only a delicious marriage of flavors and textures, but it’s also so darn pretty!
Summer time is fruit time at our house!
We are not the biggest fruit eaters in the winter time, mostly because living in Minnesota there is no fruit in season. So instead we depend a lot on apples, pears and frozen fruit for smoothies. But come summer and we become fruit monsters 🍊 🍓 🍒
Currently my pregnancy summer craving is WATERMELON! Maybe it’s a sign that I will soon have a watermelon sized belly … but dang do I want watermelon all the time! Breakfast, lunch, and late night snack… WATERMELON.
And I’m not complaining because as far as pregnancy cravings go, this one is pretty healthy. So if it means I have to buy a 20 lbs. watermelon every week so be it.
Something else we like doing in the summer is incorporating fruit into our weekly recipes. Adding pineapple to skewers or to stir fry, berries to coffee cakes, mango to salsas or in this case strawberries to salads.
Alright, so about this glam salad…
Perfectly tart and sweet strawberries
Israeli pearled couscous
Crisp cucumbers
Bright juicy yellow tomatoes
Crunchy yet delicate almonds
Yields 4-6 servings
Ingredients
- 7 ounces Israel pearl couscous, uncooked (roughly 1 1/3 cups)
- 1 package (16 ounce) fresh strawberries, sliced
- 1 pint Sungold, cherry, or other small heirloom tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 English cucumber, chopped into small cubes
- 1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 6 ounces feta, crumbled (skip if vegan)
- 2/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons raw honey , as needed for sweetness.
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil.
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Fill a medium saucepan bring 1 ¾ cups of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the rinsed Israeli couscous, stir, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or as instructed on the package. Let the couscous steam for 2 minutes and then fluff with a fork. Drain the couscous and toss with a little olive oil to avoid sticking. Let the couscous cool.
- To prepare the dressing, mix the mustard, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and honey in a small bowl. Whisk well. Then slowly add the olive oil, whisking along the way. Season salt and pepper.
- In a large serving bowl add the cooled couscous, tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, parsley, feta and dressing. Toss salad and add salt and pepper to taste. Top it with sliced almonds.
- Enjoy as a side or a lovely lunch.
Notes
Salad saves well in the fridge for 3-4 days. Enjoy cold or at room temperature. If vegan, skip the feta cheese.
Inspired by A Beautiful Plate.
Originally posted 2017-06-05 06:00:00.
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