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Any time you need a refreshing salad this one can do double duty as a pasta dish or side or even as as the main event. That’s because this cherry tomato couscous salad is not only loaded with veggies, it’s also got a base of couscous, a fine pasta from Northern Africa and popular in Mediterranean and Levantine cuisines.
There’s also a generous amount of protein in this dish thanks to some feta cheese and some toasted, spiced chickpeas, which means it also makes a good main dish for lunches or light dinners. And, the best part of it is how easy this salad is to make.
To get the chickpeas to their crunchiest you need to bake them before moving on to the other steps of the salad. These have a simple coating of olive oil, paprika, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. After 10 minutes add half the cherry tomatoes to another pan to bake until they become soft. The finished salad has fresh tomatoes as well, so that each bite gives you different flavors. The cherry tomatoes really are the star of the show here.
Once these are cooled off and you have your couscous cooked, you’re ready to assemble the dressing and the salad.
The other things that bring this salad to life are some fresh basil leaves, diced cucumber, and just a little feta cheese.
Toss this all together and you have a salad that is so satisfying and wholesome and goes with almost anything else. It’s perfect with chicken or as the main dish with just some other veggies on the side.
This fresh, zesty, protein-packed salad is just the thing for dinner parties and weeknight meals alike since it’s so tasty and so easy to prepare at the same time.
Cherry Tomato Cous Cous Salad
Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 (14 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved and divided
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup uncooked couscous
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, more for garnish
- 1/2 English cucumber, diced
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400˚F. On lined pan add chickpeas and then drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice on top. Sprinkle with paprika and add salt and pepper to taste. Bake for 30 minutes or until crisp.
- Line another large baking sheet with parchment paper. Add half the tomatoes to pan and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle thyme on top and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until tomatoes have lost some of their moisture. While tomatoes and chickpeas are cooking prepare couscous to package directions.
- Whisk together 1 tablespoon olive oil with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, garlic, and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- In large bowl combine chickpeas, cooked tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, cous cous, cucumber, basil, and feta. Drizzle dressing on top and toss to combine. Taste and add salt and pepper before serving if needed.
Recipe adapted from Love and Lemons.