This Veggie & Couscous Salad will lend fresh flavors and textures to all your spring and summer dishes! Pair it with a bed of greens, or eat it by the spoonful!
I’ve come to realize that the most intimidating part of writing a new blog post is the opening line. So often I feel like I start off with the same wise crack, but looking back on the last few posts I’ve done it doesn’t quite look that way – thank goodness. That still doesn’t really console my uncertainty on how to start off my posts, though. I’ll work on it.
Anyway, I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend, I know I did! My parents and I joined a few of our family members in Hilton Head for the week leading up to the 4th. We’ve been going to HHI for years and I have so many sweet memories from our summers spent there that there is truly no other beach I would rather vacation at (okay, in the continental US, that is). From watching the sunset night after night (and taking at least 40 pictures of it in one visit), to going on bike rides around Sea Pines and pushing through steamy early morning runs, this place puts me at such ease it’s almost crazy.
Good food at the beach is a must, am I right? Thankfully, there was no shortage of that during this beach trip. Whether it was eating out at the Boathouse (I got the Napa Salad with grilled salmon) or having pork tenderloin and homemade crab cakes at the house, my tummy was very happy. My aunt even bought Siggi’s — score!! For lunch we would either grab some food at the recently renovated beach club (pictured below), or would throw together a simple ham sandwich back at the house. There’s just something so satisfying about having a sandwich at the beach to me.
My aunt actually made a really great dish for lunch towards the end of the week that was amazing! She ended up sending me home with a huge tub of it and I’ve been working my way through it, savoring each bite along the way. I posted a ‘gram of it a few days ago and a couple people wanted the recipe, so I figured why not throw up an easy recipe post for yall, and for future reference for myself, as well. I wasn’t hovering over her shoulder while she made it and didn’t ask for the specific recipe (as I’m pretty sure she made it up as she went along), but it seems pretty intuitive to me. 
- 1/2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise
- 1/2 yellow squash, quartered lengthwise
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cucumber, quartered lengthwise
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 8-10 oz. box couscous, prepared per package instructions
- juice of 1 lemon
- pine nuts, if desired
- Preheat oven to 400*F.
- Cut up zucchini, yellow squash, cherry tomatoes and cucumber and place in a large bowl.
- Slice red bell pepper into thin strips, toss with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Place strips on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 20 minutes.
- While bell peppers are roasting, prepare couscous per package instructions.
- Remove bell peppers from oven when roasted to likeness and roughly chop into a similar size as other vegetables.
- Combine prepared couscous and roasted bell peppers in the large bowl of chopped vegetables and toss to combine.
- Dress salad with juice from one lemon, and season to taste with pepper.
- If desired, you could add in toasted pine nuts for an extra crunch!
- We also dressed our couscous salad with a lemony extra virgin olive oil.
- To toast pine nuts: heat a pan over medium high heat before adding in pine nuts. Allow to sit for 30-45 seconds before tossing, and continue to toss until nuts are toasted to preference. Be careful not to burn.
I’ve had it a couple of times in various dishes since being back home (in Asheville!!!). For lunch one day, I topped a bed of arugula with the couscous salad and a fried egg. That was delicious.
And then another evening I served it alongside a semi-sad attempt at a baked eggplant casserole/bake/not totally sure. I threw in some goat cheese for added flavor! I’m also guilty for having it plain, straight out of the tub. Didn’t disappoint.
