Happy New Year friends!
January is the month that I started “Marilena’s Kitchen”, four years ago. Since that first recipe (Greek Filo Chicken Pie), 265 blog posts arrived into your inbox with a variety of (mostly) Mediterranean recipes. I am very grateful to you for your support and encouragement, and, I am also so happy to know how well received my recipes have been. Your comments and words of encouragement have meant a lot to me.
Updated Blog Look
I hope you like the new banner at the top of today’s blog entry. Over the Holidays, my daughter Elizabeth helped create it using some of my favorite food photographs. She is my “tech support” and a main reason that this blog runs smoothly, as I cannot pretend to understand the many technical aspects that happen at the back end of the blog!
New Recipe
Now, about today’s recipe: this Mediterranean couscous salad is an easy way to make the transition into our New Year’s resolutions for healthy eating, without sacrificing on the taste. This delicious salad could not be easier to make. The only cooking involved is to making the couscous itself. After that, assembly is easy by tossing together all the ingredients along with a bright lemon vinaigrette. For me, this is a very satisfying meal on its own, but for those meat lovers in your house, you can serve this as a side dish next to some rotisserie chicken or other leftover protein you might have in your refrigerator. Even the pickiest eater will be hard-put to resist the visual appeal (and taste) of this salad!
- 1 cup pearl (or Israeli) couscous
- ½ cup red onion, minced
- 6 oz. (about ½ can) chickpeas or cannellini beans, rinsed well
- 3 oz. sun dried tomatoes, sliced in olive oil, with the oil
- ½ cup fresh parsley or fresh cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup mixed olives (packed in olive oil), cut in half and drained
- 6 TBSP. extra virgin olive oil
- --- zest and juice of one (or half) medium organic lemon
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 1 medium garlic, finely minced (or grated with a microplane)
- ¼ tsp. ground coriander (optional)
- 2-3 oz. arugula
- 1-2 oz. Greek Feta cheese, crumbled
- Cook couscous in plenty of water, according to the package instructions. Once cooked, drain the water and let the couscous cool a bit then place in a large bowl.
- To the bowl, add the red onion, chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes and olives.
- In a separate, small bowl, mix together the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, grated garlic, sea salt, black pepper and coriander. Pour it over the couscous mixture, to taste (you might not need it all). Toss well to combine. Gently fold in the arugula, sprinkle the Feta over the salad and taste. Adjust the seasoning if necessary, and serve.
THANK YOU FOR READING AND FOLLOWING ALONG
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Marianna Athanasopoulou says
Thank you Marilena for sharing your wonderful recipes with us over the years! The care you put in preparing, testing and photographing them makes it always a pleasure and inspiration merely to read them and trying to execute them a certainty that they will be successful and delicious! Best wishes to you and your blog for an even more successful and creative 2019!
Marilena Leavitt says
Thank you so much Marianna for your encouraging comments and support! I trully appreciate it! ??
Suzanne says
Marilena. This is so easy and DELICIOUS. Perfect for hot summer days. ???
Marilena Leavitt says
I am so glad you liked it Suzanne! This salad is a family favorite and we make variations of it all the time! ?