Happy Monday, lovelies! Today I’m starting the week out with a tasty and refreshing pearl couscous salad after a weekend of celebration!
I had the best weekend! I headed up north to celebrate my friend’s bachelorette party in Northern Michigan. The weekend was full of delicious food, lovely wine tasting, and good friends and fun. And now it’s back to the daily grind today!
Today I’m sharing a recipe for a tasty pearl couscous salad. I first toasted the pearl couscous (also known as Israeli couscous) to give it that nutty browned flavor. I then added Hungarian paprika and allowed it to cook and coat the couscous for a bit before cooking the couscous in white wine and chicken stock. I then paired the couscous with cherry tomatoes, fresh spinach, and a simple and tasty lemon Dijon vinaigrette made in my new favorite kitchen gadget: my OXO Good Grips salad dressing shaker! I absolutely love this thing. It makes the process of making a salad dressing super easy, and you can store them right in the fridge in this shaker!
Related: 30 Minute Orzo Pasta Salad
Now it’s your turn: what exciting things did you get up to this weekend? Share with me by commenting below!
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 cups pearl couscous
- ½ tbsp. Hungarian paprika
- ¼ cup white wine
- 2 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup water
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 large handfuls baby spinach, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
- ½ tsp. lemon zest
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. chives, minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅛ tsp. kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp. ground black pepper
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with olive oil. Add pearl couscous and toast, stirring occasionally, until the couscous starts to brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add paprika and stir, cooking until the paprika is evenly distributed and begins to glisten, about 1 minute. Deglaze the pan with white wine, being sure to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add chicken stock and water. Turn heat down to low and simmer until couscous is cooked fully, about 10-12 minutes until couscous is cooked through. Remove from stove and stir several times. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain any excess liquid and set couscous aside to cool to room temperature.
- To prepare vinaigrette, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, chives, and olive oil in a salad shaker. Shake until fully emulsified, about 25-30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- To assemble salad, in a large mixing bowl combine prepared couscous, cherry tomatoes, spinach, pine nuts, and half of the vinaigrette. Stir until combined. Add more vinaigrette if desired. Enjoy!
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Sarah is a food blogger from Metro Detroit who believes that gourmet food should be accessible to all home cooks. 
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