the salad I will spend the summer making over and over

The summer days come and all I want to eat is bowls and bowls of cold salads. I’ve been making a variation of this recipe for years and it’s become a staple.

ingredients

• ¾ cup couscous
• 1 tablespoon butter
• ¾ cup water
• 1-2 cups tomatoes
• 1-2 cups cucumber sliced
• 1 bell pepper chopped
• ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced
• ⅓ cup feta cheese crumbled
• ⅓ cup flat leaf parsley chopped

dressing

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 ½ teaspoons honey
• 1 clove garlic minced
• salt & pepper to taste

instructions

• Bring water, butter and a pinch of salt to a boil. Add couscous, stir and cover. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place all dressing ingredients in a jar and shake/stir well to combine.
• Place couscous in a large bowl and fluff with a fork. Allow to cool completely.
• Add remaining salad ingredients and dressing. Toss to combine and serve.

Sometimes I add chickpeas, peas, carrots, red pepper, broccoli or whatever other raw vegetable we have in the fridge. Sometimes, like right now, I nix the feta cheese. Sometimes I don’t add the lemon juice. We’ll add grilled chicken and eat it as a meal or simply snack on it throughout the day. It’s easy to make it whatever you want!