Couscous and Rucola Salad

There's something so refreshingly creative about mixing together random ingredients and coming up with a wonderfully tasting dish.

Last week, some of my friends and I were having a small picnic among one of the many grassy lawns in our university. I needed something that was filling and quick to make. Albeit this a wasn't picnic-friendly dish what with having to use bowls and forks, it was still fun to eat. And make.

I looked through my refrigerator and cabinet and lined up random ingredients on the kitchen counter. I chose couscous as the central ingredient for my dish and decided to pair it up with ingredients that would complement it. It's amazing how starting off with a central ingredient can build up a great, unique dish.



I recreated it today at home for lunch and everyone loved it.

Ingredients
1.5 cups couscous
1 cup boiling water
Juice of one lemon
1 tsp salt
4 cups rucola leaves
3 tbsp pitted black olives
2 tbsp chopped sundried tomatoes
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
40g snow peas
1 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp basil pesto

20g crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp dried cranberries
Splash of balsamic vinegar


Procedure
Place the couscous in a bowl and pour over the boiling water. Cover the top with a plate and leave to rest for 5 minutes. After that, fluff up with a fork. Stir in the lemon juice and salt.
Mix in the rucola leaves and stir until thoroughly combined.
Next, stir in all the ingredients apart from the last five.
Make a paste by combining the olive oil and basil pesto and stir through.
Scatter the crumbled feta cheese and cranberries over the top and mix well together.
Add the balsamic vinegar and gently toss through.