Israeli Couscous Salad

This salad is light and fresh, and I love the size of israeli couscous, or Ptitim. The toasted almonds give this dish a smokey crunch, while the turkish apricots round out the fresh lemon flavour with their sweetness. Super easy to make and feel free to substitute the parsley with different herbs such as mint, basil or tarragon. If you don’t have green onions, sub 1/4 cup of chopped red onion or shallots. Get creative!

Ingredients:

1 cup israeli couscous

1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

1 roma tomato, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup parsley, choppped

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

2-4 dried turkish apricots, chopped for garnish

Method:

Place the israeli couscous in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat slightly and cook about 8-10 minutes or until tender (like pasta). Drain and rinse under cool water.

While the couscous is cooking, toast the almond slices in a dry skillet over medium-high heat till golden around the edges-watch carefully! Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together tomato, green onion, lemon juice and zest, salt. pepper, olive oil and cumin. Add drained and rinsed couscous and stir gently. Add chopped parsley and toasted almonds and stir to combine. Distribute into two bowls and top with chopped turkish apricots. YUM!

~The Vegan Project