Vegetarian couscous salad: with cucumber and cherry tomatoes

Why you will love this couscous salad

1. Quick: in a few minutes your cous cous will be ready, and you only have to deal with chopping fresh vegetables such as cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and arugula. The dressing made with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar is also quick and easy to make.
2. You can prepare it the night before: you can prepare this salad the night before by taking care of cooking the cous cous. This recipe also lends itself very well to creatively reusing leftover cous cous we have in the fridge to which we add simple raw vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and arugula.
3. Lightweight: This summer cous cous salad is light and easily digestible. It is therefore perfect for summer and the warmer months.
4. Customisable there are no rulers when entering the kitchen. Don't have the vegetables described in the recipe at home? don't worry, you can use the vegetables you have on hand or the ones you most prefer taking into consideration the seasonality of the ingredients.

Here are all the ingredients you'll need

Ingredients for making couscous

Ingredients for seasoning couscous

Preparation (step-by-step)

To prepare the couscous

1. Boil the water: Start preparing your cous cous salad by boiling some water inside a kettle or in a small saucepan.

3. Add water: Then add the boiling water slowly making sure you do not overtake the level of the cous cous by more than 2mm. You will then need to stay pretty much flush.

4. Stir: Mix the cous cous well so that the spices are well distributed and to avoid excessive lumps.

5. Allow the cous cous to rest (5 min): Then close the lid and let the cous cous absorb the water.

6. Stir again to separate the cous cous: After 5 minutes remove the lid and stir the cous cous again to separate it. At this point if it seems too dry, add a little water.

7. Let rest again for airy cous cous: Then let the cous cous rest for another 5 minutes, then stir again and your spicy cous cous will be ready to enjoy. If you will be using it to make a salad, leave it without a lid to speed up the cooling time.

To prepare the vegetables

0. While your cous cous is cooling, take care of the vegetables and feta.

1. Wash the cucumber, cherry tomatoes and arugula under running water making sure they are well cleaned.

2. Then cut the cucumber and cherry tomatoes as you prefer (see photo). Then cut the feta cheese into cubes as well. You will not need to be precise in this step

3. Make sure the cous cous is cold and put all the ingredients inside a bowl and mix well. Add salt to taste.

4. Enjoy your meal!

Pro tip

Cous cous temperature - make sure the cous cous is cold

• When you are about to assemble the vegetables and cous cous make sure your cous cous is cold or at least lukewarm. If you add the raw vegetables to the hot cous cous they will become wilted and lose their crispness.
• Couscous salad lends itself perfectly to being prepared in advance. So prepare the couscous the night before, let it chill for a moment outside the refrigerator, and when it is warm place it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day you will only have to take care of dressing your salad with your favorite vegetables

Storage tips

In the refrigerator: you can store your cous cous salad in the refrigerator inside an airtight container for up to 2 days. To make it last longer, I recommend keeping the vegetables and sauce separate from the cous cous until it is time to assemble them. That way you will prevent your cous cous from becoming moist and mushy.

Now that you have all the information to prepare this vegan strawberry banana milkshake, all you have to do is get to work. Have fun in the kitchen!

I hope you enjoyed the recipe, see you soon!