Greek Couscous Salad

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 5
• 10 sun-dried tomatoes (not oil packed)
• hot water
• 2 cups cold cooked couscous
• 1 small unpeeled cucumber, seeded and coarsely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
• 4 -5 small radishes, unpeeled,scrubbed,stemmed,and chopped fairly fine (desirable) (optional)
• 3 -4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 teaspoon dried basil, lightly crushed
• 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled,more to taste
• 2 tablespoons lightly toasted pine nuts
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar or 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, lightly crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Recipe

• 1 place sun-dried tomatoes in a large bowl, cover with hot water, and let stand 10-15 minutes or until softened.
• 2 drain well, and coarsely chop.
• 3 add couscous, cucumber, radishes, parsley, basil, feta, and pine nuts, and toss lightly to combine.
• 4 in a small bowl, whisk lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper until well combined.
• 5 set aside for 5 minutes for flavor to develop.
• 6 slowly add olive oil while continuing to whisk briskly.
• 7 pour over couscous mixture, and toss to blend.
• 8 cover, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
• 9 taste, and adjust seasonings before serving.
• 10 for some reason, this salad dissipates flavors like you wouldn’t believe.
• 11 you will probably need more of most dressing ingredients, especially more lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and pepper; but don’t add them into the initial dressing mix.
• 12 add after the dish has set for a while.
• 13 variation: replace couscous with coarse bulgur wheat, preferably#3 (very coarse), available at middle-eastern markets and some specialty food stores.
• 14 to prepare, thoroughly rinse 1 cup bulgur in a strainer under running water.
• 15 place in a medium bowl, cover with very hot tap water, add 1 tsp salt, mix thoroughly, and set aside for 30 minutes.
• 16 drain thoroughly, and use as noted above for couscous.