Spicy Couscous Salad With Tomatoes, Green Beans and Peppers

By David Tanis

Total Time: 45 minutes
Rating: 4(127)
Notes: Read community notes

Pearl couscous, also called Israeli couscous, is a round pellet-shaped pasta, larger than regular couscous. You may substitute Lebanese mograbiah or maftoul, or the large Moroccan couscous called mhammsa. All are available in Middle Eastern food shops. Fregola from Sardinia is also an option.

Featured in: Cool Noodle Dishes That Defy the Season

Learn: How to Make Salad

or to save this recipe.
Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
Subscribe
Share
Print Options
Include recipe photo

Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

For the Dressing

2tablespoons lemon juice, more to taste, plus zest of 1 lemon
½teaspoon salt
½teaspoon turmeric
¼teaspoon cayenne
1red Fresno chile, finely chopped
¼teaspoon caraway seeds, toasted and ground
½teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Pinch of ground cinnamon
¼cup olive oil

For the Salad

1pound very small new potatoes, halved
2tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
2sweet bell peppers
½pound Romano beans or green beans, cut in 1-inch pieces
1pound pearl couscous
½pound cherry tomatoes, halved
Small bunch mint, cilantro or parsley, for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

For the Dressing
1. Step 1
  In a small bowl, stir together lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, turmeric, cayenne, chile, caraway, cumin and cinnamon. Whisk in olive oil. Set aside.
For the Salad
1. Step 2
  Heat oven to 400 degrees. Put halved potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper and roast cut side down until tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Step 3
  Roast bell peppers whole under broiler, over a gas burner or over hot coals until skins are blackened and blistered, 3 to 4 minutes. Set aside to cool. Using a paring knife, split peppers lengthwise and scrape away seeds and charred skin (do not rinse). Cut into ½-inch strips.
3. Step 4
  Drop beans into salted boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cool water.
4. Step 5
  Meanwhile, boil the couscous in abundant salted water until al dente, about 10 minutes, then drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Blot dry.
5. Step 6
  Put couscous in a shallow salad bowl. Add roasted peppers, cherry tomatoes and beans and season with salt and pepper. Add dressing and toss well to coat. Add potatoes and toss again. Taste and adjust for salt and lemon. Garnish with mint, cilantro or parsley leaves.

Ratings

4 out of 5

127 user ratings

Have you cooked this?

Private Notes

Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.

Cooking Notes

There aren’t any notes yet. Be the first to leave one.

neline8 months ago

I added tasted cauliflower. Next time would like to try with some chopped dates

quaasam4 years ago

Very nice. I have changed the salad a bit. I did not have potatoes at home and substituted it for grilled zucchini. The other ingredients remained the same. Added the cherry tomatoes just before serving to keep them from getting watery. Dressing is excellent. Served it with lemony salmon from Alison Roman.

Simone4 years ago

Spicy and spiced dressing. Not a typical veggie combo for me but really enjoyed it. Don’t own a mortar or pestle and substituted anise seeds (whole) but it worked out fine. May have been a little heavy handed on the cinnamon.

SharonATX5 years ago

This was really good! We used mograbiah instead of couscous since we had some in the pantry and doubled the amount of veggies and dressing. We strained the romano beans out of the water and then used the same water for the grains. This was even better the next day with some feta on top.

Renee6 years ago

The dressing is delicious; I added some toasted coriander seeds to the spice mix as I don't generally care for cumin without it. Otherwise, this is so overly complicated! I roasted the potato at the same time as strips of peppers to cut down on steps with awesome results.

Es6 years ago

I used 1/2 a pound of Israeli couscous for this amount of vegetables. Very tasty. It does take time to prep and cook. This is a wonderful dish for using up the CSA basket. A little more of this and a little less of that will work fine. After assembling I put the salad into the refrigerator and then tossed before serving.

LB6 years ago

This turned out great. We loved the dressing. It was a little too spicy for my young kids, but that's easily adjustable next time. Ended up with half the couscous needed, but we thought the proportions were actually just fine with less couscous. Great way to use lots of our CSA veggies on hand.

Valentina6 years ago

Made this exactly how instructed Without the peppers and chilies... it was amazing! It was a hit at two potluck dinners that I attended. This is definitely a dish that I could make again and again... very easy!!!

Alex6 years ago

My first experience with Italian couscous and it won't be my last but had to order from Amazon as out here in the Oklahoma hinterlands it wasn't available. This was a delicious summer meal and the dressing was out of this world. The combined dish was colorful and very pretty. Did not char the peppers but simply roasted them with the potatoes.

Alex6 years ago

Not sure if my previous note said Italian or Israeli couscous and of course I meant Israeli.

Private notes are only visible to you.