Tangy Tuscan Couscous Salad

Tuscan Couscous Salad

(Note that this makes 6 cups or so of couscous salad)

Dressing Ingredients:
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbs brown sugar
2 tbs water
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs fresh or frozen basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Salad Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous or couscous blend*
1/4 cup coarse bulgur wheat
1/2 cup quinoa
1/8 cup millet
1/3 cup pitted black olives, sliced
1/4 cup manzanilla (green) olives pitted or pitted and stuffed with pimento, sliced
3 tbs olive oil (less will work if you want)
1/2 small onion
4 artichoke hearts
1/8 cup sun dried tomatoes (the kind that come in oil)

1. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar or dressing bottle, shake vigorously and set aside (the dressing is better if you make it ahead of time so the flavors can meld)
2. Boil 2 1/4 cups salted water, add couscous, bulgur, quinoa, and millet, return water to a boil, immediately cover and turn down to a simmer for ten-fifteen minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Take off heat and set aside, covered.
3. Roughly chop the artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. Dice the onion.
4. Sautee the onions and sun dried tomatoes in the oil over medium heat for 2 minutes, add the artichokes and continue sautéing until unions are slightly softened, about 3 minutes.
5. Combine the olives in a large bowl, add the onion mixture and couscous, mix to combine.
6. Drizzle the dressing over the couscous salad and stir well. Chill at least 2 hours before serving. 

I tried it with half a sliced avocado, sprinkled on a little lime juice, and added salt and pepper. (And yes, it was delicious.)

This is a HEAVILY altered rendition of Wolffie’s Pasta Salad from Sarah Kramer’s “La Dolce Vegan!”

I recommend letting your grain and pasta mixture sit for at least ten minutes after you take it off the heat so the millet will have a little more time to soften up. The pasta will get a little sticky during this time, but since the dish is heavy to begin with, and served cold I don’t think it negatively effects it. Also this would be a great addition to wraps or green salads, since you’ll probably have leftovers.

* I used the ‘Harvest Style Grain blend’ from Trader Joes for this recipe, which adds a little color as well as texture by way of orzo, baby garbanzo beans, and red quinoa (there’s not much quinoa in the blend, it’s about 90% pasta (couscous and orzo) so plain old Israeli Couscous will work about the same.)