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Green Israeli Couscous Salad

July 8, 2011 by Joy the Baker 137 Comments

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You know those mornings when you:

wake up in a panic because you forgot to send an important email…

and wait!  you only slept five hours!  where did all of these zits come from!?  like… seriously.

and the coffee line is surprisingly short, but you spill coffee on your shoes because you’re an absolute bonehead.

and technology is confusing.

but cookies are totally not confusing so you eat like, thirty of them.

and it would be awesome if you could just stay home and hide from things… but the world keeps on spinning… and you keep spilling things… and emails keep coming… and seriously with the text messages!?

You know those days?

when work feels suffocating.  and it’s 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and you’re still trying to pull something out of your day.  well… something besides cookies.

I had that day yesterday.  I just couldn’t turn things right.  It was like slow motion falling, all day long.

It’s ok.  It really is.  Some days are just funktown.

whitney and willy

What turns around these days?

Buying your best friend cupcakes for her birthday.  Yes.  Buying!!!  I already told you it was a rough day!  Geez!  Sometimes bakers buy cupcakes.  That’s real life!

Buy cupcakes.  Light candles.  Pet a fluffy sweet dog named Willy.  Sing Happy Birthday to Miss (dirty 30) Whitney.

Doing nice things for other people totally helps me out of a funky day funk.  It feels good.  Making other people happy is the best distraction there is!  Truly.

Buy cupcakes if you have to.  Eat cookies if things get weird.  Do good things for other people.  Also… try couscous for lunch.  It’ll totally counteract all of the cookies you ate for breakfast, and the cupcakes you’re about to eat after pizzadinner.  Pizzadinner is totally a word.

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Israeli couscous is a toasted pasta shaped like little balls.  It’s different from traditional couscous, in that it’s much larger, really holds it’s shape, and doesn’t clump together.  Tiny pasta balls.  Like tapioca, but more pasta-y.

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I love to turn this couscous into a salad.

I had a theme this go-round.  I wanted everything to be green.

Snap peas.  Raw.  Sliced.  Crisp.  Pretty.

Maybe you want to try asparagus?  Go for it!!

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Green onions and green parsley.  I’m really into parsley.

Maybe you want to try basil and oregano?  Heck yes!

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Big chunks of cucumber too!

What?  You want to use roasted zucchini!?  Why didn’t I think of that?

And lemon.  Lemon should go into everything.

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I toss it all together with lemon juice and olive oil.  Salt and coarse pepper for days.

Feta cheese too… because come on!  Don’t be dumb.

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I thought toasted pistachios were a nice touch too.  They’re green.  I love a theme.

Feel free to play around with the ingredients.

This is just a simple little ditty for a ditty of a day.

 

Green Israeli Couscous Salad

four small or two large servings

Print this Recipe!

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups dry Israeli Couscous

generous pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups sliced snap peas

1 English cucumber, cut into chunks

1/3 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios

salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste

about 3 tablespoons olive oil

about 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

In a medium saucepan, bring three cups of water to a boil.  Add a generous pinch of salt, followed by Israeli couscous.  Stir and reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer until couscous is just tender, with a slight bite, about 10 to 13 minutes.

Drain into a fine mesh strainer and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.

Toss cooled couscous with the rest of the ingredients.  Taste and add more salt and pepper as necessary.

Yea… it’s that easy!  Cook couscous and toss it with veggies, herbs, cheese, lemon and olive oil.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura

    July 14, 2011 at 6:35 pm

    This is fantastic. I made this for a friend’s BBQ, replacing the Israeli couscous with quinoa because it’s what I had. It was a huge hit, and I received several requests for the recipe. Thanks for posting!

    Reply
  2. Seanna Lea

    July 11, 2011 at 8:00 am

    My husband calls me a lemon demon, because you are right. Lemon should go in everything. I would marry lemon curd if it wouldn’t be illegal.

    Reply
  3. Yo

    July 11, 2011 at 3:39 am

    Nice! This looks like a large couscous grain.

    Reply
  4. sarah

    July 11, 2011 at 1:38 am

    I found the couscous (it was star-shaped!) and I made the salad last night. I loved it. My boyfriend also loved it. And we have enough to both take the rest to work for lunch today. Brilliant! Thanks Joy – you’re a star! xoxo

    Reply
  5. Charis

    July 10, 2011 at 10:11 pm

    That looks healthy AND delicious!!

    Reply
  6. a little chef

    July 10, 2011 at 8:21 pm

    Israeli couscous rocks. It has such an awesome texture – roly-poly goodness – that just deeeelights the tongue.

    Reply
  7. Brian @ A Thought For Food

    July 10, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    I always have to explain to people what Israeli couscous is. And, while I like the smaller kind, the Israeli varietal is a bit more satisfying. Beautiful salad, darling! Will have to give it a try. And I do know what those days are like. It usually happens to me when it’s blizzarding out.

    Reply
  8. Erika

    July 10, 2011 at 3:32 pm

    Awesome post! All last week I felt as if the universe was conspiring against me (which is probably why my shopping cart was full of chocolate, caramel and Oreos Friday night). It is good to know that I was not alone. Thanks!

    Reply
  9. anna

    July 10, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    very intrigued by giant couscous! salad looks amazing. sorry your day was funktown, but you’ve inspired me to enjoy pizzadinner more often! also love reading your recipes – they are the most fun to read recipes ever.

    Reply
  10. miri leigh

    July 10, 2011 at 11:59 am

    This is a PERFECT summer dish. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

    Reply
  11. Shelby @ Lady Gouda

    July 10, 2011 at 11:05 am

    What a gorgeous couscous salad! I have been on a pasta salad binge for the last few weeks- it is so easy to make a big pot and dole it out for my daily brown bag lunch. However, I am in a bit of a rut, and seem to be making pretty much the same thing over and over again. This recipe was exactly what I needed to jumpstart my brain. Instead of pasta, israeli couscous! Instead of trying to get a wide range of colors, change things up by picking a theme! Love it.

    Reply
  12. Melissa Vanni

    July 10, 2011 at 9:37 am

    This is beautiful Joy. I totally have those days too. :)

    Reply
  13. ginny lee

    July 10, 2011 at 9:27 am

    sometimes Israeli couscous is for great days too, like when your friend gives you a tagine for your birthday and you make lamb tagine with couscous…then it’s ok if you have Magnum bars for dessert

    Reply
  14. Roxana

    July 10, 2011 at 8:08 am

    YUM! I love Israeli couscous! I will have to try your version, it looks delicious!
    I like to put roasted peppers in mine, and drizzle it with olive oil, and eat it with a dollop of hummus or cucumber mint yogurt. YUM.

    Reply
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  1. Dining Out, Dining In | Lilveggiepatch says:
    July 11, 2011 at 8:34 am

    […] thinking about what I wanted to have for dinner, and saw that Joy recently posted her recipe for Green Israeli Couscous Salad. Well, I just happened to have nearly all of the ingredients! I made a few substitutions and […]

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