Israeli Couscous Pepper Salad

Sharon123's Note:

A yummy salad that makes a great summer supper! Adapted from Epicurean. Couscous or kuskus is a pasta from the Maghreb of Berber origin. It consists of spherical granules made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating them with finely ground wheat flour. The finished grains are about 1 mm in diameter before cooking. The Israeli variant is about twice the diameter and made of hard wheat instead of semolina. The dish is a primary staple throughout much of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya . It is also popular in the West African Sahel, in France, Madeira island, in western Sicily's Trapani province, and parts of the Middle East. It is particularly popular among Jews of North African descent, such as the Berber Jews, and is eaten in many other parts of the world as well.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 4

• 2 cups water (or vegetable broth)
• 1 cup israeli couscous
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups kidney beans, rinsed and drained (or black beans)
• 3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 large lime, juice of
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Bring water(or broth) to a boil.
2. Add couscous, olive oil and salt. Simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes or until tender to the bite. Drain and cool couscous.
3. Combine couscous with kidney beans, peppers, onion, green onion, cilantro, parsley and hot pepper flakes.
4. Whisk together honey, lime juice, olive oil and combine with couscous mixture.
5. Season with additional salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Reviews

[FrenchBunny]

Oh My !!!! I love Israeli couscous.....so totally different than the regular couscous. This was phenomenal with such delicious flavors. I followed the recipe as written except I used red and yellow peppers because my friend does not like green ones. Oh almost forgot I cooked the couscous in Chicken broth because I had some open in the fridge. As well I cut the recipe in half because we were only two. It actually worked out well and I served it with 4-Pepper Deviled Eggs(Alton Brown) These worked out fantastic together and made for a great light lunch. I will be keeping this recipe to use again because it was so yummy. Thanks again for sharing this great recipe Sharon. Made in memory of Sharon's DH.

[Metalkika]

Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I have been recently thinking about what to do with my kuskus that I brought with me from my London vacation :-) Now it's time to make some nice salad. Thanks again.

[French Tart]

Just caught the end of the summer here in France for this salad! A delectable couscous dish - I cook couscous a lot here, so it's always nice to find a new and slightly different recipe to make. I followed the recipe exactly, with one exception - I did not add the kideney beans. Tasty and easy to rustle up - we ate this with some left over tagine for lunch, and I did use the optional chilli flakes for a little heat. Thanks Shaz! Made for the Aussie/Kiwi Recipe Swap #20. FT:-)