Because there are really only so many times you can eat lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes as a salad! Couscous, tomato and cucumber salad is a great option when you are tired of the traditional salads.
Filled with health benefits, crunchy, and flavors your mouth will thank you for. This is definitely a salad you will want to add to the rotation of your favorite salads.
I particularly love this salad in late summer when the tomatoes are juicy and ripe! I have a small garden where I grow them fresh – so I count down the days every year until I get that first batch. There is nothing better than home grown!
Couscous Tomato Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cucumber, diced
- Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/4 cup fresh mint
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 3/4 cup dry couscous
- 1 cup water
- 1 large strip of lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of cayenne
- 1 scallion, chopped
Instructions
- Toss cherry tomatoes, cucumber, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a bowl
- Separate the mint and parsley leaves from the stems
- Peel one large strip of lemon zest from lemon
- Pour the dry couscous in a bowl and set aside
- In a pot, bring water, mint and parsley stems, lemon zest,
olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and the cayenne to a boil - Remove from heat and pour over couscous, cover and let sit for 5 minutes
- Uncover couscous and remove stems and lemon zest
- Fluff couscous with a fork
- Add parsley and mint stems and scallion and mix well
- Add tomato cucumber mixture and blend well
Couscous, Tomato And Cucumber Salad Ingredients
If you can get your ingredients from your own garden or a local farm that would be best. It will be fresher and have less concerns with pesticides.
This recipe is adapted from the Food Network Kitchens.
Ingredients below will serve approximately 2-3 people as a small salad.
- 1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cucumber, diced (you can peel them if you prefer no skin)
- Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/4 cup fresh mint
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley
- 3/4 cup dry couscous
- 1 cup water
- 1 large strip of lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of cayenne
- 1 scallion, chopped
Preparation
Definitely one of our easier recipes. In about 20 minutes you will be ready to dive in and enjoy.
Step 1
Place cherry tomatoes, cucumber, lemon juice, and sea salt in a bowl and toss well. Use as much sea salt as you would like to taste, I usually start with 1 teaspoon.
Set aside.
Step 2
Separate the mint and parsley leaves from their stems. Peel a strip of lemon zest from lemon.
Step 3
Add water, lemon zest, olive oil, cayenne, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, and the stems of the mint and parsley to a pot and bring to a boil.
Step 4
Add couscous to a covered bowl. Pour boiling mixture over couscous in bowl, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes.
Step 5
Remove cover from couscous and remove stems and lemon zest. If the couscous still seems too watery – place cover back on and let sit a few more minutes. It is ready when it looks like the image below.
Fluff couscous with a fork and stir in the mint and parsley leaves as well as the scallion.
Step 5
Add tomato mixture to the couscous and stir well.
You can serve it still a bit warm – or pop into the refrigerator to get a nice chill going and allow the flavors to marinate a bit more.
If you want to make it a day or 2 ahead, then I recommend leaving the tomatoes out until you are ready to sever as they do not do well in the refrigerator.
This salad is great alone or as a side dish for another entree like our Vegan Eggplant Burger. If you are eating it as a meal, you can add a unique bread like our Nordic Stone Bread or Komiška Pogača.