South Western Couscous Salad

For Day 3 of BM# 17, I made this very quick and easy South Western Salad with couscous. I think any grain can be used instead of couscous and the salad would taste equally delicious. Using couscous cuts down the cooking time considerably. Recipe is from Whole Foods website.

This is a very colorful and healthy salad. Ingredients can be easily substituted with what you have on hand. A perfect dish for summer BBQs and the leftovers taste great chilled the next day for quick lunch.

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Couscous Salad with Roasted Vegetables

This salad was part of my Middle-eastern themed dinner this past weekend (or 2 away. This recipe has been on my drafts for quite some time). Except for chopping the veggies, this dish needs less than 10 minutes of hands-on time and it can easily feed AND please a crowd. I made it about 4 hours before the party and all the flavors had enough time to mingle and make the dish super delish.

Here’s how I made it:
Ingredients:
Zucchini – 2 medium, sliced into ¼” half moons
Red peppers – 2, chopped into 1” pieces
Japanese Eggplant – 2, sliced into ¼” half moons
Red Onion – 1 medium, chopped into 1” pieces

Chickpeas - 1 cup, cooked
Balsamic vinegar – 3tbsp
Extra virgin Olive Oil – 2tbsp
Salt & Pepper – to taste
Herbe de Provence – 1tsp, crushed (or any other dried herbs)
Whole-wheat couscous – 2 cups

Method:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Place the chopped veggies in a large bowl and add balsamic vinegar, oil, s&p & herbs. Mix well to coat the veggies with the marinade. Transfer to baking sheet (s) and bake for 30-35 minutes turning the veggies half-way through until roasted around the edges. Remove from oven and cool.
• In the meantime cook couscous: Boil 4 cups of water with 1tsp olive oil and salt, once the water comes to a rolling boil, add couscous and turn off the heat. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes. Fluff the grains with a fork and add 1tbsp balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.
• Gently mix in the roasted veggies and cooked chickpeas; season with more vinegar or salt & pepper. Cover and set aside until ready to serve.
• Garnish with chopped parsley & coriander if desired. You can also add some feta cheese or queso fresco to make it a fancier and non-vegan.