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Summer Couscous Salad

This easy Sumer Couscous Salad is filled with fresh seasonal produce, herbs, and a bright honey lemon dressing for the perfect warm-weather meal.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 17 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Salad
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

For the Couscous:
  • 1 cup uncooked couscous
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries, raisins, or dried cranberries
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 1/4 cups warm chicken or vegetable broth
  • salt and pepper to taste
For the Salad:
  • 1 1/2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1 cup fresh corn raw, cut from the cobb ,or cooked
  • 2 ripe nectarines or peached, diced
  • 1 cup blueberries
  • 1 cucumber, diced
  • 1 avocado, cut into chunks
  • 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup nuts or seeds of choice I use pumpkin or sunflower seeds
  • fresh herbs of choice I love a combination of chopped mint, basil and parsley.
For the Dressing:
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp raw honey
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Method
 

For the Couscous:
  1. In a medium bowl, combine the couscous, dried fruit, cumin, salt and pepper.
    On the stove over medium heat, add the broth to a saucepan and heat it to just before boiling. Pour the warm broth over the couscous mixture in the bowl, stir it, cover with cling wrap, and let it sit for 5 minutes.
    Fluff with a fork and allow it to cool slightly.
For the Salad:
  1. While the couscous rests, chop the vegetables, fruit, herbs, and crunchy toppings.
    Place everything into a large serving bowl.
Make the Dressing:
  1. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
    Pour over the salad and toss gently.
Serving the Salad:
  1. You have two delicious options:
    Toss the cooled couscous directly into the salad for one large family style dish.
    My favorite way: spoon couscous into the bottom of each serving bowl, then top with the dressed salad. This keeps everything fresh and lets everyone choose how much couscous the would like.