Mediterranean Couscous Salad

As you probably know, Steve and I try to attend the Halifax Club's monthly cooking classes - and the last one we went to a few weeks ago was the Greek cooking class. We had a great time and we had the opportunity to make the Mediterranean Couscous salad at the class. The dish turned out really well at the class, so we decided to make it this past week. The recipe we were provided with from the cooking class was meant to serve 8 people and we choose to keep the recipe as it was provided to us - because we loved it so much we knew we could (and would) want to each enough for 8 people.

Here are the ingredients that you will need:

• 2 cups instant couscous
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/5 cups extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups small zucchini cubes
• 2 cups small eggplant cubes
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 large roasted red pepper, peeled, seeded, diced
• 1 English cucumber, seeded and finely cubed
• 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 7 ounces of Greek feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons of finely chopped Italian parsley
• 3 tablespoons of finely chopped mint
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• Pinch of salt and pepper

And here is how you bring it all together:

1. Put the couscous in a heat proof bowl, pour the boiling water over it, stir with fork and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Set the bowl aside until needed - the couscous must be left for a minimum of 5 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. When hot add zucchini/eggplant and season. Saute for several minuted or until the vegetables are starting to become tender. Add the garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. Remove the vegetables from the pan to a baking sheet and spread out to cool quickly.
3. Uncover the couscous and dump into a large bowl. Using fork, break the couscous grain up. Add zucchini, eggplant, roasted red pepper (see the 'Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Stuffed Chicken' recipe for how to roast red peppers), English cucumber, olives, feta cheese and herbs then toss.
4. Pour the red wine vinegar into a small bowl and slowly whisk in the extra virgin olive oil. Season to taste and pour the dressing over the salad. Toss the salad with the dressing and season to taste prior to serving.

NOTE - The salad is best served just after it is made, ingredients can be prepared in advance but the salad should be assembled at the last minute.

This recipe took more time than our usual weeknight meals - simply because of the process to roast the red pepper and to chop up all of the veggies. But the work was worth it! The couscous salad was delicious! We are so glad we went to the cooking class and now have a new recipe to incorporate into our cooking practice.

We choose to eat the couscous salad with kebabs done on the BBQ - great combination!

Definitely give this recipe a try! Or consider joining Steve and I at one of the upcoming Halifax Club cooking classes - we'd love for you to join us!

Bon appetit & enjoy!