Description
What says spring better than a spring couscous salad, loaded with tons of arugula, fresh peas, herbs, and a garlicky marinade.
Ingredients
Scale
Red Onions
- 1/2 (75 g) small red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp (35 g) lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Couscous & Greens
- 1 cup (135 g) english peas
- 1 cup (160 g) pearl couscous (plus 1 1/2 cups water and 1 tsp kosher salt)
- 1 cup arugula, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup (10 g) firmly packed parsley, finely minced
- 1/2 cup (10 g) firmly packed mint, finely minced
- 1/2 cup roasted pistachios, roughly chopped
Marinade
- 4 tbsp (45 g) olive oil
- 3 (16 g) garlic cloves
- 2–3 tsp za’atar* (use 2 tsp for a milder flavor)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste (this salad needs a lot of salt)
- Sumac for serving
Instructions
- Start off by blanching the peas in boiling water. I like to blanch them for 1 1/2 minutes, this is just the right amount of time to cook the peas without making them mushy. Drain the peas and set aside, and then cook the couscous in the same pot you used for the peas.
- Cook the couscous. Pour the couscous and water into the pot, along with a generous pinch of salt. Bring to boil on high heat, then reduce to low, partially cover the pot, and let simmer for 8-10 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Cover the pot and let it sit off the heat for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and toss with 1-2 tsp of olive oil to prevent the couscous from sticking.
- Prep the onions. To a bowl, add in the onions, lemon juice, zest, and salt. Toss together and set aside.
- While the couscous cooks, prep the herbs, arugula, and pistachios. I like to roughly chop the arugula so it’s easy to spoon the salad without getting a faceful of leaves. Once the couscous is done, add it to the bowl of onions, along with the arugula, herbs, and pistachios.
- Make the marinade. Rinse and pat dry the pot you used for the couscous and add in the garlic and olive oil (I like to use the same pot to save on dishes). Gently fry the garlic over medium heat until it just starts to brown. Remove from the heat and stir in the zaatar, cumin and kosher salt.
- Toss and serve. Pour the marinade over the salad and toss to combine. Season to taste with sumac and kosher salt.
Notes
*If you can’t find za’atar, mix together 1 tsp each sumac, sesame seeds, dried oregano, dried thyme, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 tsp kosher salt.