Lemon Couscous Salad
Brighten up your picnic table with a tangy and refreshing lemon couscous salad!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
whole lemon dressing
- 1 organic lemon, Meyer lemons work well, too.
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp sugar
salad
- 10 ounces plain couscous (do not use a flavored variety)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- zest of 1 lemon
- handful baby asparagus stalks, lightly blanched* and chopped in 1 inch pieces
- 2 baby cucumbers, cut in small dice
- 1 small yellow pepper, cut in small dice
- 1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced, white and green parts (about 6)
- 2/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted**
- 3 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
Make the salad
- In a medium saucepan add 1 2/3 cups water, the lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Bring to a boil, then add the couscous, stir, and take the pan off the heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Then add the lemon zest and fluff the whole pan gently with a fork to separate the grains.
- Add the couscous to a large salad bowl and gently toss with a little bit of the lemon dressing. The warm couscous will absorb that flavor. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
- Add more dressing and toss with the asparagus, cucumbers, peppers, and onions. Serve topped with the almonds and crumbled feta cheese. Note: use enough dressing to moisten but not drown the salad. You'll have more dressing than you'll need..
Make the dressing
- Wash and dry your lemon. Slice off each end and discard. Cut the lemon into quarters and remove any seeds. Put the lemon quarters into a blender.
- Add olive oil, salt, and sugar and starting on low, blend the dressing. Slowly increase the speed to high and blend until smooth and you don't see any chunks of lemon rind. Taste the dressing to adjust the salt or sugar.
- Transfer to a jar and use right away or refrigerate until needed. You can make this ahead if you like, but bring the dressing back to room temperature before using, because the olive oil will solidify as it chills in the refrigerator.
Notes
*Just put on a plate, sprinkle with water, cover with a wet paper towel, and microwave to 2 minutes. Then pop into an ice bath to stop the cooking.
**To toast almonds put them on a piece of parchment paper in the microwave and microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes until golden and fragrant. Please don't skip this step, the flavor is so amazing.
Nutrition
Calories: 319 kcal · Carbohydrates: 44 g · Protein: 11 g · Fat: 12 g · Saturated Fat: 3 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 6 g · Trans Fat: 0.002 g · Cholesterol: 13 mg · Sodium: 459 mg · Potassium: 253 mg · Fiber: 5 g · Sugar: 2 g · Vitamin A: 133 IU · Vitamin C: 38 mg · Calcium: 124 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although The View from Great Island attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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