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This summery grain salad is the perfect side dish to accompany any barbecue and doubles as a fantastic lunch for work. It’s great as a vegetarian option and you can make it with either couscous or quinoa. It’s packed with Mediterranean flavours like toasted pine nuts, sweet roasted red peppers, olives, cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
Dressing
½ cup fresh basil leaves
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove, peeled and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Salad
1 cup couscous
1½ cups hot vegetable stock
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
½ cup green olives
12 red and yellow cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 roasted red pepper from a jar, thinly sliced
1 avocado, diced
small handful of mint and basil leaves, finely chopped
80 grams goat’s feta, crumbled
Recipe
Dressing: Place all the dressing ingredients in a small blender and blitz until well combined.
Salad: Heat a non-stick sauté pan to hot and place the couscous in the dry pan. Toss it gently until lightly toasted. (This brings out the nutty flavours and helps the couscous hold its shape.) Place the couscous in a bowl and pour over the hot vegetable stock. Cover with plastic wrap or a large plate to seal in the moisture and set aside for 10 minutes. Uncover, then fluff up with a fork and allow to cool slightly.
Once cooled, add the pine nuts, olives, tomatoes, pepper and avocado and toss well.
When ready to serve, add the freshly chopped herbs and the dressing and toss, then top with the crumbled feta.
Tip – to use Quinoa instead of couscous, just cook 1 cup of Quinoa according the instructions on the packet.
