Couscous Mediterranean Salad

Couscous: a coarsely ground pasta made from semolina, a type of wheat.

A simple, delicious and different dish that my daughter-in-love shared with me. They often eat this in Bosnia. Her family of five uses two cups of couscous so I bought five cups when we went to Earth Fare (my new favorite store). Our crowd was their family of five plus our three more and a few people in the apartment complex I wanted to feed: the diligent law student and his wife who barely have time to do anything other than study for the bar, the family of four moving into an apartment on the end of our building, random people we’ve met by the pool. Why not have a little extra to share? Five cups should do the trick.

Let me just tell you that FIVE CUPS of couscous EXPANDS into quite a bit. Good thing I have “The Bowl” (a very large stainless steel bowl that is used for crowd cooking).

The recipe: (a loose suggestion with a number of variations according to taste)

1. Place dry couscous in a bowl. For each cup of couscous, pour two cups of boiling water over the couscous. Cover with a towel and let the water be absorbed. (an hour or so)

2. Chill the hydrated couscous.

3. Add to the chilled couscous: (this is what I did, but you can use anything you want)

• chopped fresh parsley (about half a bunch)
• diced purple onion (1)
• crumbled feta cheese (12 oz)
• grated carrots (8 oz)
• diced cucumber (1)
• cubed avocado (2)
• diced Roma tomatoes (6)
• sliced black olives (1 small can)
• olive oil
• lemon juice
• minced garlic
• sea salt
• fresh ground pepper

Mix thoroughly and let it marinate to blend flavors. Adjust seasoning.

This dish served almost 15 people! AND, there’s plenty left over for tomorrow. I served it with grilled Mediterranean Cheddar sandwiches and Greek egg salad. Yum.

What else do you think should be put in this dish? Or, maybe what would you leave out? If I had had some limes or lime juice, I would have used lime. Balsamic vinegar works well, too.