A very tasty couscous salad...

My friend Carmen made an incredibly delish couscous salad last week when we went to visit for lunch. It was so good, in fact, that I really had to hold myself back from consuming their entire bowl. (Although, I'm sure she wouldn't have minded at all, but rather would've felt it as a compliment!)

Of course, I had to have the recipe (as with most of Carmen's dishes), and I made it for dinner the very next day. Not only did I have it for dinner on Friday, but breakfast and lunch on Saturday too. And all that was left was a tiny container full for Brad to have with his sandwich in his lunch today. Yes, I consumed it all myself except for what we ate at dinner on Friday night. And, no, I'm really not ashamed about it. It was yummy. And it is mostly veggies.

I told Carmen I was going to have to post it on my blog. It makes an excellent side dish (or meal if you're like me) this time of the year when it's starting to warm up. Oh, and did I mention how beautiful it is? All the bright, vibrant colors against the tan of the couscous looks great!

(Here's my helper, as usual.)

The recipe she gave me was titled "couscous salad." But I think it deserves a more distinguished title than that so I'm naming it "Carmen's Yummy and Tempting Couscous Salad" (yummy because it is, well, really yummy and tempting because you WILL be tempted to eat the whole bowl.)

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked couscous (2/3 cup dry)

6 green onions chopped or 1 medium regular onion

2 medium tomoatoes, seeded and chopped fine

1 cup cucumber, finely chopped

2 cups garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup parsley, chopped

Mix all the above ingredients together.

Note: The way I make couscous is by pouring the dry amount I need into a mixing bowl, boiling water in my tea kettle and then pouring the boiling water into the couscous while stirring with a fork until the coucous is a nice fluffy consistency. You'll want to slowly add the water and mix with your fork so that you don't add too much and have a drowning mess.

(Lily took a picture of the whole couscous making process.)

(This is what it should look like. Nice and soft and fluffy!)

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp salt

dash pepper

Mix all the dressing ingredients together until well blended. Pour dressing over the salad ingredients and mix. Let set for a few hours to overnight for the best flavor.

To finish up, serve it in a pretty bowl along with some grilled chicken or pork and some sweetened iced tea, and your whole family will be happy!

Enjoy!