Middle Eastern-style couscous salad with mint

Middle Eastern-style couscous salad with mint: a fresh salad with couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, mint, lemon and olive oil – fragrant and quick to make.

At a glance

• Serves 3
• Prep time: 15 min
• Cooking time: 5 min
• Total time: 20 min
• Calories: 310 kcal per serving
• Protein: 9 g
• Fat: 5 g
• Carbs: 54 g

Ingredients

• 200 g couscous
• 250 ml vegetable stock
• 3 vine tomatoes
• 1 cucumber
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 unwaxed lemon
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 bunch of mint

Method

You’ll need: chopping board · knife · mixing bowl

1. Put the couscous and tomato purée in a large bowl. Pour over the hot vegetable stock, stir and cover the bowl.
2. Leave the couscous to swell for 5–10 min while you finely dice the tomatoes and cucumber. Slice the spring onions into thin rings.
3. Finely chop the parsley and mint. Then fluff up the cooked couscous with a fork.
4. Mix the veg and herbs into the couscous. Then add the olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice and stir everything thoroughly.
5. Season the salad with salt. If you like, leave it to stand briefly so the flavours come together.
6. Serve the couscous salad lukewarm or well chilled. Fluff it up briefly once more before serving.

Good to know

A salad like this is instantly appealing. Fresh, lemony and full of flavour, but without much effort. I especially like it once it has had a little time to sit.

Swaps

Couscous → wholemeal couscous (more fibre) | couscous → quinoa (a little more protein and minerals) | cucumber → pepper (more vitamin C) | olive oil → avocado oil (similar fatty acid profile, mild flavour)

Allergens

Couscous contains gluten, so it's unsuitable for people with coeliac disease. For children and in pregnancy the salad is usually a good fit, as long as the ingredients are freshly washed and handled hygienically.

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