Pearl Couscous and Tomato Salad
September’s Flavor of the Month is tomatoes and we have tons in our garden I can’t wait to work with! Do you have a favorite dish that happened by accident? This Cous Cous salad is that for us. We recently cleaned out our pantry and we had some Israeli Cous Cous we needed to use up soon. I was trying to think of a side dish to have with dinner so I thought I’d use the cous cous in a salad. I love throwing sun-dried tomatoes in pasta salads so I used those. We also had feta cheese in the fridge so I added that and minced olives so those went in too. It turned out to be a success. Anytime Derek says “love, this (insert item name here) is killer” I know we have a winner! 🙂
Let’s get to the salad!
You’ll start by cooking the cous cous. This cous cous is larger than regular cous cous and is called Israeli or Pearl cous cous. I even found some that is tri-colored, which is fun. You should be able to find it in the same aisle as the rice at your local grocery store. Follow the instructions on the label to cook the cous cous.
Once it’s done, put it in a large bowl and stir in two tablespoons of the olive oil. This will help prevent it from clumping together. Let it cool.
Now it’s time to put the salad together. Stir the cous cous to break up any small clumps that may have formed. Pour in the sun-dried tomato oil, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, and minced olives.
Give it all a stir until everything is evenly mixed in. Chill the salad until you’re ready to eat it.
Right before serving, stir in the fresh cherry tomatoes. This salad is fresh, tasty and full of different textures. The cherry tomatoes provide some sweetness and the feta cheese and olives add nice salty elements. It’s great as a side dish or for a light lunch.
Enjoy!
This salad will last in the fridge about four days. You may need to add a little extra olive oil if it gets dry.
What’s your favor summer salad? Favorite tomato dishes?
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked Pearl (aka Isreali) Couscous
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 cup chopped and drained sun-dried tomatoes
- 6 tablespoons oil from sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 4.25 ounce can minced black olives
- 1 cup feta
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Cook the couscous according to the instructions on the package.
- Put in a large bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Cool.
- Stir the couscous to break clumps.
- Pour in the sun-dried tomato oil, remaining olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, and minced olives. Stir until everything is evenly mixed. Chill the salad until ready to serve.
- Stir in the fresh cherry tomatoes and enjoy.