This olive oil and lemon couscous salad has been one of my insatiable pregnancy lemon cravings. In this recipe, light and fluffy lemony couscous gets tossed with feta cheese, castelvetrano olives, sweet drop peppers, and fresh herbs. It's a super refreshing and completely irresistible Mediterranean salad that you're sure to love.
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Olive Oil and Lemon Couscous Salad
I have been craving lemons my entire pregnancy.
From fresh squeezed lemonade to lemony pasta recipes, my body has been obsessing nonstop over this sweet and sour citrus.
And a few weeks ago, when I competed on Guy's Grocery Games, I had a lemony couscous salad that blew my mind.
If you've ever been to the SFO airport, you've probably eaten at the Napa Farms Market.
And you've probably remembered it because it's literally the best airport cafe in the USA!
Why is that? Well Tyler Florence is responsible for most of the recipes there so you know the food is amazing.
And you can get all the essential Northern California brands like Cowgirl Creamery and ACME Bread for your upcoming flights.
I'm obsessed with the quality and price and literally will run to terminal 2 from anywhere in the airport to stock up for my flight back to florida.
Anyways, let's get back to this recipe!
So as I was coming home from competing on triple G, I stopped to get something lemony before my flight.
Although it looked quite simple; beige couscous, bright green olives and chunks of feta cheese in a plastic container. The lady next to me said it was the most amazing couscous she'd ever had, so of course I bought it.
She was right. It was the best couscous I had ever had!
So I figured since my show aired last night, it was time to share my own version this tasty recipe!
And if you're craving lemons, here are some other lemon-y recipes to try!
From my Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Bars, to this Lemony Kale Juice, and this Pan Fried Gnocchi with Lemon Basil Chicken, these tasty recipes are sure to please!
How to make It
To begin, prepare couscous according to the directions.
You'll need about 5 cups of couscous which is typically 1 grocery store sized box.
I recommend using chicken stock, olive oil, and a pinch of salt in the broth.
Once the couscous is ready, fluff it with a fork and pour it into a large mixing bowl.
As it cools, make the olive oil and lemon vinaigrette.
Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, white balsamic glaze (or reduction), minced garlic and salt.
After the couscous becomes room temperature, pour the dressing over the couscous and stir until it's all soaked up.
Next, add the chopped pitted castelvetrano olives, diced red onion, sweety drop peppers, and crumbled greek feta.
I love using castelvetrano olives because they're not as in-your-face as other olives. They have a super mild, salted buttery taste and a bright green appearance.
Truth be told, they're my favorite olives and a great starter choice for olive haters!
Oh, and if you've never heard of sweety drop peppers (I found them at Publix in the speciality cheese section) or you can't find them where you live, you could also use peppadews or any pickled sweet peppers.
Now that all the ingredients are in the couscous, it's time to add the herbs.
Stir in fresh chopped dill, parsley, mint and basil.
Mix everything together and season with more salt and lemon juice if needed.
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Recipe:
Recipe
Olive Oil and Lemon Couscous with Feta, Olives, Peppers and Herbs
Ingredients
Dressing
Couscous
- 5 cups cooked couscous cooked in broth
- 1 cup pitted castletrano olives chopped
- 7 oz crumbled feta one small block
- ½ cup tear drop peppers or peppadews
- ⅓ cup red onions minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh mint roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh basil roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Dressing
- Whisk together olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, white balsamic reduction, minced garlic and salt and set aside.
Couscous
- Prepare couscous according to the directions and fluff with a fork. Pour into a large mixing bowl to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Stir in Olive Oil and Lemon Dressing.
- Add chopped olives, feta, peppers, and red onions and stir.
- Stir in dill, parsley, mint, basil and salt.
- Toss everything together and season with more salt and lemon juice if needed.
Roshelle
LOVE this recipe. I have been able to find the sweets drop peppers in Fresh Markets olive bar, and they are so worth it!