Mediterranean Couscous Salad

Mediterranean Couscous Salad

“Couscous is a staple of the Mediterranean, it comes in instant and non-instant varieties. Like macaroni and spaghetti, couscous is made from semolina flour. Couscous doesn't have a lot of flavor on its own, but it works well as a base for vegetable or meat dishes. It also mixes beautifully into salads and can be flavored with herbs like coriander, basil or mint. It's a very nutritious and is used as a base for all sorts of dishes”.

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked couscous

1 cucumber diced

1 red bell pepper diced

1 small red onion diced finely

½ cup sliced black olives

1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

For the dressing:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

juice of one lemon

1 handful of chopped parsley

½ tsp black pepper powder

1 garlic, minced finely

salt to taste

Directions

In a saucepan heat one cup of water, with a little salt. Turn off the heat and add couscous. Cover and leave couscous to double in size. When doubled, gently fluff the couscous using a fork. (Alternatively, you can check package instructions on how to cook couscous). In a bowl mix the ingredients for the dressing, check seasoning and let it stand for 5 minutes. When the couscous is at room temperature, add the chopped veggies and the salad dressing and mix gently. Add crumbled feta cheese and olives and check seasoning. Serve chilled.