Cooking with Fel – 2.20.10 – When I Say “Cous”, You Say “Cous”

Just this past week, I’ve become obsessed with couscous and quinoa. Like, totally obsessed. I think it’s their texture – the seediness of quinoa, the globular grains of coucous – I just can’t get enough!

So when I decided to cook this weekend and found a recipe for a quinoa salad, I knew I had to make it. All the fresh veggies were on sale at the local ethnic market for ridiculous prices – it was A SIGN. (Side tangent: I bought a bunch of radishes, a handful of parsley, a large cucumber, half a pound of green beans and two lemons for a little over $1.50. How this market makes money, I have no idea.) Sadly, while scouring the aisles, I realized they didn’t carry quinoa, but they did carry Israeli couscous (the larger sized ones of the various types available) and I decided to just swap the two.

Just a note: It’s probably not a good idea to make this too far in advance. After an extended period of storage, the red wine vinegar from the pickled radishes start to seep into the couscous. Otherwise, it’s great if you’re looking for a light, fresh salad to dive into.

Couscous Salad with Pickled Radishes and Feta
Modified From: Quinoa Salad with Pickled Radishes and Feta by Food & Wine Magazine, July 2008

ACTIVE: 30 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 1 HR 15 MIN

Ingredients:

* 1 cup red wine vinegar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
* 4 medium radishes, very thinly sliced
* 1/2 pound thin green beans
* 1 cup toasted Israeli couscous
* 1 large English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
* 3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
* 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 6 ounces Greek feta cheese, thinly sliced

Directions:

In a small saucepan, bring the red wine vinegar to a simmer with the sugar. Remove from the heat and add the radish slices. Let stand until cool, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch the green beans until they are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans under cold water until cool. Pat the beans dry and cut them into 1 1/2-inch lengths.

In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add the couscous, cover and simmer over low heat until all of the water has been absorbed. Uncover and let stand until cool.

In a medium bowl, toss the cucumber with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the couscous with the parsley, lemon juice and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Drain the radishes and add them to the couscous, along with the beans, cucumber and feta. Toss well and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

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