This Israeli couscous recipe, also called pearl couscous or ptitim, makes a great pasta salad. It’s called “couscous”, but isn’t what I think of when I think of couscous, because it boils up into tiny pasta balls about the size of a blueberry. Toss pearl couscous into a salad with your favorite dressing and some fresh veggies and it makes a quick and healthy side dish, or even a full meal if you throw it on a bed of greens.
Israeli Couscous Pasta Salad Ingredients
1 pkg ISRAELI COUSCOUS (8.8 oz)
1 lg ENGLISH CUCUMBER (sliced)
1 CARROT (strings?…whatever, man)
2 cups PARSLEY (chopped)
TOMATO (sliced)
….and whatever’s in the fridge you need to get rid of.
dressing:
¼ cup OLIVE OIL
3 Tbsp LEMON JUICE (or vinegar)
2 tsp LEMON ZEST
2 tsp GARLIC (minced)
2 tsp GINGER (minced)
SALT and PEPPER to taste
(plus whatever you want)
Israeli Couscous Recipe
Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and add in the Israeli couscous. Check current prices for Israeli Couscous on Amazon. Salt and oil are not needed. Reduce heat down to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and strain the couscous. Rinse with cold water to halt the cooking process and to keep the pasta from becoming too soft.
Slice fresh veggies. Use the ones I have listed above or use your favorites; and especially use whatever veggies you have in the fridge that you need to get rid of. Whenever I make a big salad, it’s almost always to utilize ingredients that are gonna go bad if I don’t do something with them soon–it’s a win-win, I end up not wasting food and getting something healthy to eat.
In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. I like to use fresh lemon juice because it’s awesome. but it’s also great to keep lemons on hand for the fresh zest–lemon zest adds a nice zing to salads and dressings. If you don’t have fresh lemon on hand, substitute vinegar.
In a bowl, toss together the couscous, veggies, and dressing. If you’re going to be serving and eating it all right away, go ahead and add tomato, but if you’re going to refrigerate some or all of the salad for later, just wait and add the tomato when you’re serving (refrigerated tomatoes are no fun).
Israeli (pearl) couscous is great in these kinda salads. I often use quinoa in these types of dishes, but this couscous makes a nice change of pace, so give it a go if you’re regularly eating salads and need to mix things up a bit.
Give this Israeli couscous recipe a try and let me know what you think, and bon appétit!
And for another tasty salad idea, try this Southwestern-Style Quinoa Salad Recipe.
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