May 13, 2013

Summer Salad



Now, I know this is completely obvious, but I just want to holler with delight when summer produce begins to arrive in the market.  While I am snatching up fresh corn and tomatoes, I am frantically scrolling the recipe compendium in my brain.  I settled on this one from Melissa Clark's "Cook This Now", which is a lovely read, as are all of her cookbooks.  After seeing how itty bitty she is, I even tracked down her diet book on Amazon.  It's yummy, and does not involve anything fat-free.

Anyway, this salad tastes like a bowl of summer.  I served it with fish and asparagus, but it would also make a lovely light lunch the next day.

Ingredients:

1large garlic clove
¾tsp. plus 1 pinch kosher salt, or to taste
2tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
cups Israeli couscous, preferably whole-wheat
1cup fresh corn kernels (from 1 large ear)
2large ripe tomatoes, diced
4oz. crumbled feta cheese 
2Tbsp. heaping chopped fresh basil
  1. Using a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a knife, mash the garlic and a pinch of salt to a paste. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic paste, lemon juice, remaining ¾ tsp. salt, and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil.
  2. Cook the couscous according to package instructions; add the corn for last 5 minutes of cooking. Drain well.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the hot couscous-corn mixture, tomato, and vinaigrette. Let the couscous cool for about 10 minutes before gently folding in the feta and basil.


I doubled the tomato the recipe called for, and thinking back, I would maybe add even another tomato.  Speaking of, Dell Harper ate an entire Grainger County Tomato tonight for dinner.   Pool, tomatoes, and bare feet- my girl is ready for summertime.

Make this salad, grill a steak, and enjoy the lingering daylight- you will be ready for summer, too.

4 comments:

  1. I had Israeli couscous with my din tonight - I love the texture of it.

    Corn salads are my *jam*. My sister is a vegetarian and my mom made bean and veggie salads in the summer for as long as I can remember. Totally scrumptious!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mmmmmm. My husband and I are Israeli couscous whores. :) Love.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Israeli cous cous is my favorite - thanks for a new way to serve it! I noticed the mention of whole wheat in the recipe. Do you have a whole wheat brand you like? I can't find one that doesn't taste like cardboard and I'm generally not picky about whole wheat pasta.

    ReplyDelete
  4. going to try this doing 1/2 with blue cheese or parm- my boys are are in a non feta phase. Summer produce makes me so happy!

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from y'all, so drop me a line!