Couscous Salad with Fresh Tomatoes, Cilantro, and Lemon Recipe

Couscous Salad with Fresh Tomatoes, Cilantro, and Lemon

from Rice Pasta Couscous by Jeff Koehler

Ingredients:

1 pound medium-grain couscous (about 2 1/2 cups)
8 cups water
5 ripe medium tomatoes, halved, seeded, and grated
Juice of 2 lemons
2 heaping tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

This and many other wonderful recipes may be found in Rice Pasta Couscous by Jeff Koehler from Chronicle Books

On the corner of a tiny street running behind La Boqueria market in Barcelona sits Supermercat Rif, a small Moroccan grocery store that sells, among the standard basics, smen, harissa, ras el hanout, and various brands of Moroccan and Algerian pastas and couscous. One day, when I was buying a five-kilogram sack of couscous, the two women who work there explained to me a typical summer salad they make with couscous. It's as lovely as it is simple. The grains of the couscous are surprisingly supple considering they're not steamed, and the only liquid is from washing the grains and the juice of the tomatoes and lemons. It works with precooked "instant" couscous as well. To make it more substantial, scatter cooked chickpeas across the top.

Place the couscous in a large bowl and add the water. Swirl and sift with your fingers for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large salad bowl.

Add the tomatoes to the couscous along with the lemon juice, cilantro, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Let the mix sit for at least 1 hour for the flavors to blend and the lemon to mellow.

Add the olive oil and fluff just before serving.