I have been making some variation of this salad for over 20 years. Today I am making it with Israeli couscous, but often I make it with orzo or many other different shapes of pasta.
Roasted Vegetable Israeli Couscous Salad
The recipes and photography for this post were provided by local blogger, Sally Roeckell of 365 Barrington.
It’s an incredibly simple salad with the rich flavors of roasted vegetables, garlic and tangy lemon dressing.
We like the salad without any sort of green other than a little additional chopped basil, but it can easily be adapted to a green salad by adding in a bit of raw spinach or crisp peppery arugula.
When toasting the pine nuts, stay with them as the oils scorch quickly. Shake the pan around every 30 seconds or so to get a nice toast on all sides. Remove the fragrant toasted nuts from the pan onto a plate to cool and set aside.
Note about lemon juice. I have a juice extractor, so I juice the whole lemon, skin and all. If you have one, I recommend giving it a try. The lemon flavor is intense. If this is not an option, fresh lemon juice is still delicious. I do not, however, recommend pre-juiced bottled lemon juice. It’s just not the same.
Roasted Vegetable Israeli Couscous Salad
Ingredients
For the Couscous and Veggies
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1 1/2 cup mushrooms, slice
- 1 cup mix of red yellow, or orange bell peppers, deseeded and diced
- 1 lb. asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces with woody ends discarded
- 12 oz. cherry tomatoes
- 2 tsp. garlic, minced
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
- 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 2 cup Israeli couscous, prepared per package instructions
- 1/2 cup garlic and herb feta, crumbled
- 1/4 cup Kalamata olives
For the Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lemon, juiced
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
For the Garnish
- 1/4 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- In a hot cast-iron skillet or frying pan, toast pine nuts for 2-3 minutes moving them around the pan until toasty and fragrant. Set aside to cool.
- Turn oven to 425°F. Use two sheet pans. Place the mushrooms, bell peppers, asparagus, tomatoes, garlic and onion on one pan. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil.
- Using a spatula, mix all the veggies together with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper then stir again.
- Move 1/2 the veggie mixture to the other sheet pan. Spread the veggies in one layer, making sure there’s no overlapping on both pans.
- Roast in a 425°F oven for 35-40 minutes (due to oven variations, keep an eye on the veggies so they don’t burn). Rotate pans 1/2 way through roasting.
- In a small bowl or mason jar, add the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk until all the ingredients are emulsified.
- In a large bowl, add the couscous and roasted veggies with all of their juices.
- Stir in the dressing and add feta, olives and pine nuts.
- Garnish generously with fresh chopped basil.
- Serve immediately. If serving later, store in the refrigerator then leave at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before serving.
Interested in making this recipe? Order the ingredients online for Curbside Grocery Pickup or Delivery.
This is absolutely delicious and a great way to eat a bunch of fresh vegetables & have everyone enjoy them 🙂
Thank you! We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Anne.