Recipe: Roasted Summer Vegetable & Couscous Salad

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I’m a big fan of preparing dishes that make for good leftovers all of the time, but this seems to be particularly true in summertime. Summers being so short in VT, I’d much rather spend my free time outside, savoring the season, rather than instead, in my kitchen. This is even more true on those really hot days, when turning on any cooking appliance in my non-air-conditioned home is a non-starter. This roasted summer vegetable and couscous salad is a great make-ahead-and-eat-all-week kind of dish. Plus, the bright colors, seasonal veggies, and freshness of the lemon and parsley, make it a satisfying summer staple to keep on hand. I recommend adding this salad to your rotation and keeping a batch ready to go in your refrigerator at all times.

Here’s what you need & how to make it

Ingredients

For the salad

  • 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed, cut into 1” pieces

  • 1 medium yellow squash, quartered lengthwise and sliced to ½” thick pieces

  • 1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced to ½” thick pieces

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • Salt & pepper, to taste

  • 1 cup Israeli pearl couscous

  • 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

For the dressing

  • 1 shallot

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 2 lemons (1 zested, both juiced)

  • 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

  • ~1/3 cup olive oil (aiming for approximately equal parts lemon juice & olive oil)

  • Salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.

  2. In large bowl combine bell pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss to combine. Spread in an even layer on a prepared baking sheet and place on middle rack in oven. Roast for 30 minutes, or until edges of vegetables begin to brown and are soft. When done, remove from oven and allow to cool to cool temperature.

  3. Cook Israeli couscous according to package direction. When done, remove from heat and transfer to a mixing bowl or spread on a sheet pan to cool to room temperature.

  4. While the vegetables and couscous are cooking, prepare the dressing. In a small food processor combine all dressing ingredients. Process for 10 seconds at a time until the shallot and garlic are finely minced and the dressing is well combined. Remove from food processor and transfer to a container with a lid.

  5. Once all components are prepared and cooled to room temperature combine the veggies, couscous, and ½ the dressing recipe in a medium mixing bowl. Add the fresh, minced parsley. Toss to combine. Taste and add more dressing, as desired, storing the rest for another use.

  6. Enjoy at room temperature or chilled!

This week I served this dish with chickpea cakes from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook from America’s Test Kitchen, and a curried yogurt sauce (literally Greek yogurt plus some curry powder, a drizzle of honey, and squeeze of lime juice). It would also be fantastic with any grilled protein you desire.