Pasta salad is such a wonderful meal for hot summer days. Even better is using couscous instead of traditional pasta. Couscous is the less known pasta miracle. It cooks quickly and doesn’t need to boil the whole time. Perfect for meals in a hurry or hot days when you don’t want to boil water longer than necessary.
Our summer schedule is nearing an end to the craziness. Afternoon swim practice is over and we also are done with evening swim meets. Just two more days of morning practice and the City Meet Saturday morning. This was a perfect meal for one of our busy days this week. It is easy to prepare earlier in the day, pop in the fridge and then pull out whenever you are ready to eat.
This is also a versatile recipe. You can easily switch out to whatever vegetables you enjoy or protein of choice. Leave the chicken out and make it vegetarian. We happened to grill a whole chicken earlier and had the leftover breast meat. I also used our carrots and tomatoes fresh from the garden. Nothing says yummy like a rainbow of red and yellow tomatoes or red, yellow and purple carrots! After all, we eat with our eyes!
I used a couscous blend from Trader Joe’s that contains tri colored couscous, mini chickpeas, orzo and quinoa. It was a nice way to add a little extra nutrition, but regular couscous would certainly work as well.
The lime vinaigrette is what brings it all together. The lime gives you the acidic aspect, the honey provides sweetness and the coarse mustard extra flavor and texture. The best part, you don’t really need to use all the vinaigrette (unless you like your salad extra saucy) so you have leftovers for another salad. The boys really enjoy this salad dressing.
Couscous Salad with Lime Vinaigrette
1 1/4 c. pearl (Israeli) couscous
1 3/4 c. water
1 c. sliced carrots
1 c. black beans
2 c. diced chicken
1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
Lime Vinaigrette
1 Tbs. lime juice (about one lime)
Zest of a lime
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs. coarse mustard
2 Tbs. chopped chives
1/2 c. canola oil
Bring the water to a boil in a small pan. Add the couscous, return to a boil and then cover. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. When done fluff it with a fork and put in a large bowl. Add the carrots, black beans, chicken and tomatoes.
For the vinaigrette put everything in a blender except for the oil. Blend until combined. While still blending slowly pour in the oil to allow it to create an emulsion.
Pour some of the vinaigrette on the salad, enough to stir in and make sure the couscous does not stick. Cover the salad and place in the fridge to chill (can also be served warm if desired). Once ready to serve add as much vinaigrette as desired.
Yields 6 servings
Feeding My 3 Sons 
Gretchen, Lovely recipe with GREAT flavors. I made something similar for dinner, though it also included some black beans, sauteed onions and quinoa. I swear, we are foodie sisters. I will try this recipe soon. I bet it gets even better the next day with your zesty, herbaceous dressing. Do love me some chives. 😉
I almost put in raw red onions! Sautéed sounds good too, or roasted corn. So many possibilities. I liked the Trader Joe’s mix since it had some quinoa in it too. I will probably just make my own next time, I need to see about finding the mini chickpeas. We all loved them! Chives, you bet. I pick them straight from the garden and chop away!
Amazon to the rescue! Just found the baby chickpeas, aka yellow split peas. I will be stocking up and experimenting soon!
Oh my gosh, I love Amazon! ! ! ! ! I recently ordered coconut flour; so many cool ingredients. I will have to order those baby chickpeas, too! 🙂
Wie had pasta salad last nicht 🙂 Couscous, quinoa or bulgur make great summersalads and summer is finaly here in germany 😀 thank you for the lime vinaigrett.
We have had all of those as salads already too! Love them all. The lime vinaigrette is super yummy and the boys certainly love it too!
This really does sound like a good salad, Gretchen, and a great way to take advantage of the season’s fresh produce. With that lime vinaigrette of yours, I bet just about anything could be added to the bowl.
So many veggies would be wonderful in this salad! I do so love summer and all the fresh produce. The lime vinaigrette really adds the extra touch. Thanks for stopping by.
so pretty 🙂 I’m going to need to start shopping food on amazon!
Yes, Amazon is great for food. Especially for those of us in small cities!
Your salad does sound perfect for summer, especially with delicious home grown tomatoes from your garden.
The tomatoes make the difference! Thanks!
This looks really yummy! Can’t wait to give this recipe a try. I made a super yummy Greek pasta salad. I have the recipe posted on my blog, if you’d like to check it out: http://sweetseatstreats.wordpress.com/2014/07/02/easy-greek-pasta-salad/
I think I would prefer to leave the chicken and have it as a meal at lunchtime. Even now, I have that lonely breast in the fridge,,,,it’s a permanent feature in my fridge. I love the addition of honey and lime to the dressing. They are my favourite dressing ingredients! Have a great week!
Thanks Liz! I do love honey and citrus as well. It makes such a delicious and versatile vinaigrette. Enjoy your week!