I know I channeled summer in September on Monday, but I thought I’d share with you another summer-esque creation that I’m totally obsessed with at the moment: my cherry tomato & spinach couscous salad.
I actually intended to make this salad with quinoa at first, but when I got to the co-op, bulk couscous was on sale, and I suddenly realized that it’s been a way long time since I’ve had couscous in my pantry, let alone made something with it. In fact, I believe that this is the first recipe I’ve ever posted with couscous in it on the blog! Definitely time to change that.
I have to confess, though, that I have a love/hate relationship with couscous. Don’t get me wrong, I love the nutty flavor, healthy graininess, and the fact that it cooks almost instantly. But I have a serious aversion to little things that congregate, for lack of a better word. One ant? fine. Two ants? That’s cool. Ants crawling all over something on the floor? I think I might faint. Same with pomegranate seeds, sunflower seeds when they’re still on the flower, masago… (I don’t really mind that it’s fish eggs, just that it’s so tiny and lumped together). Is there a phobia for that? Congrephobia? Seedaphobia?
On a side note, for some reason, quinoa, even though it’s also something small that congregates, doesn’t seem to bother me at all… kinda strange.
Luckily, when you eat couscous, you can’t really taste all of the different pieces, so I can go on eating it without too much freaking out which is good since it tastes pretty darn amazing.
For the salad itself, you’ll need the following:
Next, you simply combine all of the ingredients and mix them together.
Add the lemon vinaigrette, and there you have it–a perfect late summer lunch!
Cherry Tomato & Spinach Couscous Salad
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2/3 cup couscous
1 cup water
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 cups fresh spinach
2 tablespoons feta cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons white vinegar
salt
pepper
red pepper flakes
Steps:
Heat water over medium heat until it comes to a low simmer. Cook couscous until water is absorbed, about 2-3 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine couscous, cherry tomatoes, almonds, spinach, and feta cheese, and mix well.
In a separate bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, and salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste to form the vinaigrette. Add to the couscous mixture and stir until combine.
Enjoy!
Time: 10 minutes
