This super versatile Israeli Couscous Salad can be served as a side and easily turned into an one bowl meal. Use seasonal fruit and make it all year long! Crushed red chili pepper gives the dressing a nice touch of heat that will wake up your taste buds!
Israeli couscous is a type of pasta that is toasted and shaped into little balls. The way it's cooked however, is similar to the way rice is prepared. The ratio of pasta to water is close to 1:1 , and all the water is absorbed once it's ready. The difference between Israeli couscous and regular couscous is that couscous is not actually pasta, but small granules of crushed wheat semolina. These granules are much smaller and rougher that the Israeli type, and the cooking method is also completely different.
A lot of Israeli Couscous Salad recipes include tomatoes and summer time ingredients. For ours, we skipped the tomatoes, so it can be prepared ahead of time ( but they can definitely be added right before serving!), and added bell peppers and radishes for crunch, and sliced olives for a touch saltiness. The herbs adds great flavor and freshness, and the nectarines that sweet component that balances out all the flavors.
Perhaps the thing that elevates this salad and makes it incredibly flavorful is the dressing. Made with brown and whole grain mustard, olive oil and a nice punch of heat from Frontier's Crushed Red Chili Peppers. These spicy and peppery flakes will brighten up any of your dishes definitely wake up your taste buds! You can adjust the amount in this dressing depending on the level of heat you want.
Want to customize our Israel Couscous Salad so you can make it all year long and make it your own? Here are some ideas:
- During the colder months when nectarines are not available, you can use apples, persimmons or pomegranate seeds
- Add roasted butternut squash, apples and dried cranberries, for a great Thanksgiving side dish
- Add spiced chickpeas or your favorite protein to make it a complete one bowl meal
- Add roasted vegetables and serve it warm ( the couscous will absorb the dressing and give it an extra punch of flavor!)
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Israeli Couscous Salad
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
Description
This super versatile Israeli Couscous Salad can be served as a side and easily turned into an one bowl meal. Use seasonal fruit and make it all year long! Crushed red chili pepper gives the dressing a nice touch of heat that will wake up your taste buds!
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups uncooked Israeli couscous
2 cups water or vegetable broth
1 tsp salt or less to taste
3 radishes, diced
½ red or orange bell pepper, diced
½ yellow or green bell pepper, diced
3-4 scallions, sliced
1 nectarine, diced (sub for apple, persimmon or pomegranate in the winter)
½ cup green olives, sliced - (sub for any other olive of your liking)
1 small bunch of parsley, cilantro, mint or dill, chopped (about ¾ cup chopped)
Crushed Red Chili Pepper Dressing (recipe follows)
Instructions
Bring the water or broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the salt and couscous, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Once it's cooked, remove it from the heat, fluff it up with a fork so the pasta balls don't stick together and let them cool slightly.
Combine the radishes, peppers, scallions, nectarine,olives and herbs in a large bowl. Add the cooked Israeli couscous and dressing to taste and toss well. Refrigerate until ready to serve
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Salad
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 192
- Sugar: 4
- Sodium: 322
- Fat: 1.9
- Saturated Fat: 0
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 41
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 7.5
- Cholesterol: 0
Crushed Red Chili Pepper Dressing
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: ⅔ cup 1x
Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp brown mustard
2 tbsp country grain mustard
2 tbsp water (optional if you would like the dressing to be thinner )
1 to 2 teaspoon Frontier Co-op Crushed Red Chili Pepper ( or to taste)
¼ tsp salt
Instructions
Place all the ingredients (expect the water) in a jar with a tight lid. Shake until well combined. If you want a thinner dressing, add water and shake again. Alternatively you can whisk the dressing in a medium bowl
- Prep Time: 5
- Category: Dressing
- Method: raw
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 56
- Sugar: 0
- Sodium: 133
- Fat: 6
- Saturated Fat: 0.8
- Unsaturated Fat: 5
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 0.7
- Fiber: 0.5
- Protein: 0.5
- Cholesterol: 0
Linda
Love this!