Name: Tremendous Couscous Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 1.5 cups couscous; 1.5 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth; 1/3 cup, divided olive oil; 1.25 tsp, divided kosher salt; 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice; 1 tsp lemon zest; 1 tsp honey; 1 tsp dijon mustard; 1 clove garlic, finely grated; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1 (about 1.5 cups) english cucumber, diced; 1.5 cups cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 can (15 oz) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced; 4 oz feta cheese, crumbled; 1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved; 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped; 1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped; 2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

Tremendous Couscous Salad

Prep

15m

Cook

Total

20m

Bigly says

Couscous. COUSCOUS! Say it with me — coos-coos. It's fun to say. It's the most fun word in the entire culinary universe. You can say it twice in a row and it just keeps being fun. Try it. Couscous couscous. See? Tremendous word. Tremendous food. Tremendous EVERYTHING. And yet — AND YET — most people are completely scared of it. They walk down the grain aisle, they see the box, they get nervous, they pick up the rice instead. Sad. Pathetic. The rice industry has been winning this war for DECADES and it's time we evened the score.

Here's what nobody is telling you: couscous is the EASIEST grain in the world. It's so easy it's almost embarrassing. You boil water. You pour it on the couscous. You put a lid on it. You walk away for five minutes. FIVE MINUTES. You come back and there it is, done, fluffy, ready to go. No stirring. No 'simmer for 47 minutes uncovered.' No standing over the pot like a maniac. Five minutes. The other grains are FURIOUS that this is allowed. They're holding meetings. Rice is calling its lawyer. It is what it is.

And this salad, this TREMENDOUS couscous salad, is the side dish that makes any meal look like you tried — and you didn't try, that's the beauty of it, you put in maybe twelve minutes of work and it looks like you went to one of those Mediterranean places where they don't put prices on the menu. The kind of place where they ask if you have a reservation in a tone that suggests you definitely do not. With cucumber and tomato and feta and herbs and a lemony dressing that BRIGHTENS the entire plate. Big strong men, tough men, they eat this salad, they get emotional, they call their mothers. Happens every time. I've seen it. Many times. Many, many times. Believe me.

Ingredients

1.5 cupscouscous(regular Moroccan couscous, not pearl/Israeli — different recipe, different animal)
1.5 cupslow-sodium chicken or vegetable broth(water works, but broth is the upgrade)
1/3 cup, dividedolive oil(good olive oil, the green kind, the kind that tastes like a salad)
1.25 tsp, dividedkosher salt
3 tbspfresh lemon juice
1 tsplemon zest
1 tsphoney
1 tspdijon mustard
1 clovegarlic, finely grated
1/2 tspblack pepper
1 (about 1.5 cups)english cucumber, diced
1.5 cupscherry tomatoes, halved
1 can (15 oz)canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/4 cupred onion, finely diced(soak in cold water for 5 minutes if you hate raw onion bite)
4 ozfeta cheese, crumbled
1/3 cupkalamata olives, pitted and halved
1/2 cupfresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cupfresh mint, chopped
2 tbspfresh dill, chopped(optional but elite)

Steps

1
Bring the broth to a boil in a small saucepan with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tsp salt.
2
Place the couscous in a large heatproof bowl. Pour the boiling broth over the couscous, give it one quick stir, then cover the bowl tightly with a lid or plate. Let stand for 5 minutes.
3
Uncover the couscous and fluff thoroughly with a fork, breaking up all the clumps. Spread it out so it cools quickly — a hot couscous wilts the herbs.
4
While the couscous cools, make the dressing: in a small bowl or jar, whisk together the remaining olive oil (about 4-5 tbsp), lemon juice, lemon zest, honey, dijon, grated garlic, remaining 3/4 tsp salt, and black pepper.
5
In a large serving bowl, combine the cooled couscous, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, red onion, kalamata olives, parsley, mint, and dill.
6
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly until everything is evenly coated.
7
Gently fold in the crumbled feta. Taste and adjust salt, lemon, and oil as needed.
8
Serve immediately at room temperature, or refrigerate for up to 30 minutes to let the flavors meld. Leftovers keep well for 2-3 days.

One more thing

This salad gets BETTER overnight. Better. Make a giant bowl on Sunday, eat it Monday lunch, Tuesday lunch, Wednesday lunch — by Wednesday you've out-mealprepped every wellness influencer on the internet and you didn't have to film yourself doing it. You didn't have to put a single ring light in your kitchen. You didn't have to say 'hey guys' a single time. Just a great salad, doing its job, sitting in your fridge like a quiet little champion, ready when you need it. Tremendous couscous. Don't tell your friends. Keep this one for yourself.