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    You are here: Home / Recipes / Main Dishes / Summer Couscous Salad

    Summer Couscous Salad

    Published on May 28, 2014 · Last updated on Aug 20, 2018 · 5 Comments

    440 shares
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    Summer Couscous Salad - Pin

    Try my easy Couscous Salad with chickpeas, cucumbers, fried zucchini and grilled halloumi cheese - all tossed with a zesty citrus garlic dressing! The perfect summer salad to serve at a bbq party.Summer Couscous Salad with chickpeas, grilled halloumi cheese and fried zucchini served in a big white bowl with some lemons and uncooked couscous in the background

    This summer couscous salad with chickpeas, zucchini and grilled halloumi might very much end up being your favorite salad of the season. It's fresh and bursting with flavors, perfect as a tasty vegetarian main dish or the ideal companion to any grilled meat or fish.

    If you are a pasta salad lover looking to introduce some variety in your salad recipe rotation, couscous is what you're looking for. It's filling yet light and very easy to prepare (it's even quicker than pasta).

    Basically, all you have to do is pour some boiling water or stock on the raw grains, cover it for four minutes, then fluff it up with a fork and it's ready!

    In this couscous salad, I love the addition of chickpeas, grilled zucchini and grilled halloumi but the best part is...the dressing! Oh the zesty dressing!

    Whatever adaptation you decide to make to this couscous salad with chickpeas, please, please, stick to the dressing. It's made with very simple ingredients – fresh mint, garlic, olive oil, lemon and lime – but it makes all the difference!

    Bon appétit!

    Summer Couscous Salad with chickpeas, grilled halloumi and zucchini tossed with a zesty dressing and served in a white bowl with a fork on the side 

    If you tried this Couscous Salad with Chickpeas, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

    Summer Couscous Salad - Pin
    5 from 1 vote
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    Summer Couscous Salad

    Try my easy Couscous Salad with chickpeas, cucumbers, fried zucchini and grilled halloumi cheese - all tossed with a zesty citrus garlic dressing! The perfect summer salad to serve at a bbq party or as a side dish.

    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Mediterranean
    Keyword chickpeas, couscous salad, dressing, fresh, halloumi, Israeli, light, salad, summer
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Total Time 40 minutes
    Servings 4 people as a main
    Calories 561 kcal

    Ingredients

    Couscous:

    • 1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock for vegetarians
    • 1 ½ cups couscous 9 oz, 250 g

    Salad:

    • 1 ¼ cups chickpeas 400g can, drained and rinsed
    • 2 medium zucchini skin on
    • 5 oz halloumi cheese 140 g, cut into 0.5-inch / 1 cm slices
    • olive oil spray

    Dressing:

    • ⅓ cup olive oil
    • the juice of ½ lemon
    • the juice of ½ lime
    • 1 garlic clove germ removed, finely chopped
    • 8 fresh mint leaves finely chopped

    Instructions

    For the couscous:

    1. Pour stock into a small pan and bring to boil. Arrange couscous in a large bowl and pour boiling stock over it. Mix with a fork and cover with a plate for 4 minutes. Fluff up couscous with a fork and add in chickpeas.

    For the dressing:

    1. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, lime juice, garlic and mint. Pour half of the dressing onto couscous. Mix well.

    For the salad:

    1. Cut zucchini in half vertically and slice them thinly horizontally. Heat a large non-stick skillet over high heat. Spray with olive oil. 

    2. Arrange zucchini pieces in one layer and cook for about one minute on each side or until lightly browned. Make sure you don't overcrowd the skillet (I did two batches). Remove from skillet and set aside.

    3. Spray the same skillet with a little more olive oil if needed and arrange halloumi slices. Cook about 30 seconds on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from skillet and set aside.
    4. Transfer couscous to a serving bowl, top with zucchini and halloumi and drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve immediately.

    Recipe Notes

    If you want to make this salad ahead, add the dressing at the last minute. Halloumi is better eaten just out of the pan.

    You can replace the grilled halloumi with crumbled feta. You can also add other grilled vegetables like eggplant.

    Adapted from BBC Good Food 

    Nutrition Facts
    Summer Couscous Salad
    Amount Per Serving (1 /4th)
    Calories 561 Calories from Fat 252
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 28g43%
    Saturated Fat 8g50%
    Cholesterol 1mg0%
    Sodium 526mg23%
    Potassium 448mg13%
    Carbohydrates 57g19%
    Fiber 4g17%
    Sugar 3g3%
    Protein 19g38%
    Vitamin A 280IU6%
    Vitamin C 18.4mg22%
    Calcium 390mg39%
    Iron 1.5mg8%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Allison Clark

      May 29, 2014 at 9:02 am

      Dummy me....what is the germ of the garlic bulb? Never heart of that before.

      Reply
      • marie

        May 29, 2014 at 11:28 am

        Hi Allison! The germ is the sprout in the center of a garlic clove. Usually, the bigger the clove, the bigger the germ. When I'm not cooking the garlic I like to remove the germ because it can give a bitter taste and be difficult to digest. When the garlic will be cook, it's not that important. You can check this article (http://www.thekitchn.com/bitter-garlic-just-remove-the-141639) for a visual explanation of how to remove it. Hope this helps!

        Reply
    2. anne

      May 29, 2014 at 5:40 am

      I like your recipe, and I think it's even more tastier with lots of parsley added. Try it!

      Reply
      • marie

        May 29, 2014 at 5:44 pm

        I like the sound of that! Do you think it would pair well with the mint though? It's worth a try! Thanks for stopping by Anne 🙂

        Reply
    3. 40A.

      August 20, 2018 at 8:52 pm

      The grilled halloumi cheese really takes this summer salad to the next level! Love the contrast between salty cheese and nutty sweet chickpeas!

      Reply

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