Israeli Couscous is sometimes call pearl couscous and sometimes call maftoul. What never change is its great taste and unique flavor and presence on the table. Larger then the regular couscous, but smaller to the pasta, Israeli Couscous cooks up in a minutes. Served it as a side dish, as a bad of chicken or fish, or make it a savory salad like the one I am sharing with you today. This salad is so easy and tasty to make. You can have it preparade in advance and keep it in your fridge over night. This salad is perfect for your busy week day lunch or dinner.
You need:
| Israeli Couscous | 1 1/3 cup | ||||||
| Chicken stock | 1 3/4 cup | ||||||
| Olive Oil | 3 Tbsp. | ||||||
| Feta Cheese | 2-3 Tbsp. | ||||||
| Cherry Tomatoes | 1/2 cup | ||||||
| English Cucumber | 1/2 cup | ||||||
| Red Onion | 1/4 cup | ||||||
| Lemon Juice | 1 Lemon | ||||||
| Fresh Parsley | 2 Tbsp. | ||||||
| Salt and Pepper | to taste | ||||||
| Kalamata Olives | 1/4 Cup |
Instructions:
To get really flavorful couscous you need to cooked it in a chicken or vegetable broth or if you prefer to cooked it in a water, but infused it with saffron.
In a medium size pan sauté 1/ 1/3 cup Israeli couscous with 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium heath until couscous is lightly brown- 3-5 minutes. Make sure you stir occasionally so it doesn’t burn. Slowly add 1 3/4 cup of the broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium- low and covered. Simmer for about 11-12 minutes or until the couscous is soft.
Take out of the pan and transfer to a medium size bowl. Add immediately 2 tbsp. olive oil and with a fork start fluffing it. That way all the little pearls are separated and infuse with the flavor of the olive oil. Let it cool. While you are waiting for the couscous star chopping all the vegetables. on a small cubes. Sliced the Kalamata olives into a small circles.
Combine couscous, Feta cheese, cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh chopped parsley, red onion and Kalamata olives in a medium size bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt and black pepper and mix everything together. If necessary adjust seasoning.
Enjoy!