Tomato salad with pearl couscous, basil and feta – and a simple lemon vinaigrette.
Tomato salad with pearl couscous and feta is a wonderfully simple salad that works as a side for barbecued food, roast chicken, pork tenderloin or just about anything else from the kitchen or the grill. It is fresh, substantial and full of the flavours of sun and summer.
The salad is made with cooked pearl couscous (also sold as giant couscous), tossed with juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumber, shallots and creamy feta. Fresh basil leaves lend a lovely aromatic note – I like to use them whole, but you can also chop them roughly if you prefer.
Everything is tossed in a simple vinaigrette of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, dried oregano, salt and freshly ground pepper. Once the pearl couscous has been cooked, rinsed in cold water and drained well, it is really just a matter of combining all the ingredients, and the salad is ready to serve.
The salad takes next to no time to make and can easily be prepared well in advance. In fact it benefits from a couple of hours in the fridge, giving the flavours time to come together. Make it in the morning, say, and serve it in the evening – it stays fresh and tastes just as good.
A summery salad that is easy, quick and full of fresh flavour.
Tomato salad with pearl couscous and feta
Ingredients
- 150 ml pearl couscous
- 250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cucumber, halved lengthways and sliced
- 1-2 shallots, finely sliced
- 100 g feta, cut into cubes
- 7 stalks basil, leaves picked
Vinaigrette
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1-2 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Method
- Cook the couscous according to the packet instructions, then rinse in cold water. Leave to drain well in a sieve.
- Meanwhile, mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Put the couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, shallots, feta and basil in a bowl with the vinaigrette and toss well.
- Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper and keep the salad in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition
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