Tomato Mint and Couscous Salad

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This vibrant, fresh, and delicious Tomato Mint and Couscous Salad is the perfect hearty vegetarian dinner for a warm summers night. Enjoy the immense flavors of Tomatoes when they are at their peak season in Summer and pair them with Mint, one of their all-time favorite food partners. This is a very hearty salad that is fulfilling enough to be enjoyed as its own dinner for two. Alternatively, it serves as the perfect side salad if you want to pair it with your favorite protein. It’s versatile, beautiful, and delicious!

Other than being so healthy, what we love about Salads is how easy they are to make. This Tomato Mint and Couscous Salad is no exception to that either. There are only a few simple steps required to enjoy this delicious Salad, with relatively little effort needed in those steps too!

The only requirement is a little bit of patience. Not too much, but you will need to allow about 10 minutes cooking time for the Couscous, and another 20 minutes after it has cooked to allow it to cool. This is a Salad that is best enjoyed at room temperature, as the flavors of the Tomatoes are at their best when served this way

All in all, the dish will be ready from start to finish in under 30 minutes, so it is still an efficient meal which makes it perfect for a midweek dinner. These kind of dishes are so great to enjoy early in the week, especially if you’ve overindulged on rich, fatty foods over the weekend (which is totally ok!)

Enjoy this Salad is a great way to get some nutrients into the system, while also being an enjoyable and easy to prepare meal

To get the best flavor from your Tomatoes make sure to serve them at room temperature

This is a great little trick for all you Tomato lovers out there. You can extract so much more flavor out of a Tomato if you eat it at room temperature, not cold. I am sure there is some scientific reasoning for this that I am not privy too, all I know is they taste better when not cold

Tomatoes technically don’t need to be refrigerated; however, it is a good habit to get into as it will help avoid them spoiling sooner. Particularly in the warmer months when leaving a bunch of Tomatoes out in the fruit bowl for a few days will likely see them spoil

So, for this recipe we recommend simply removing the Tomatoes from the refrigerator about 1 hour before preparing them. If you’re in a rush and don’t have that kind of time, that’s ok too. Just get those Tomatoes out and sliced up before you begin to prepare the Couscous. From start to finish the Couscous will take 30 minutes, which is more than enough time for your Tomatoes to warm up to maximize their flavor

Pearl Couscous adds robustness to the Salad, making for a hearty dinner

Couscous is a much slept-on carb that is packed full of nutrients and tastes amazing. These little balls of goodness are made from wheat, technically Semolina Flour to be precise. The Pearl Couscous are slightly larger versions than regular Couscous and have the most amazing, chewy texture once cooked

For our Tomato Mint and Couscous Salad you will need approximately 200g / 7 oz. of Pearl Couscous and double the quantity (400g / 14 oz.) of Water. Cooking the Couscous is so easy too. Simply get the Water boiling in a medium sized saucepan, add the Couscous, cover and drop the heat to a Simmer

The cook will take about 10 minutes, there’s no need to stir it or anything, just leave it and let it do it’s time. It’s quite like how you would prepare rice, as the simmering water will gradually get absorbed into the Couscous, while cooking it

Once done, we recommend straining the Couscous through a fine sieve to remove any excess water. Give it a bit of seasoning (we just use Salt), and then allow it to cool at room temperature. Naturally, the Couscous is going to be super-hot coming straight out of the pan, so it will take about 20 minutes to cool down to room temperature, which is what we want for this dish

For a bit of decadence, you better believe we’re adding Cheese to this dish!

Is there anything Cheese doesn’t pair with? Some may say Seafood but give me a Lobster Thermidor and I’m eating well! There are plenty of Cheese types which go well in salad. In fact, there are plenty of Salad recipes here that include Cheese, particularly Mozzarella and Goats Cheese

For this recipe we’re using Bocconcini, which are those small Mozzarella balls. You can use large Mozzarella if you prefer, but we do recommend cutting them up into small, bite-sized pieces to maximize the eating experience. This is why we’ve opted for Bocconcini for the dish, as they are about the same size as a Cherry Tomato

Try to use the Bocconcini or Mozzarella that comes in a tub of liquid as opposed to the pre-packaged slabs of Cheese. You’ll get a much better flavor and texture from these ones. If you don’t use them all, remember to keep the liquid so you can place what you didn’t use back into the water then refrigerate. This will allow the cheese to keep for later use

Finally, Almonds add some great texture to the Salad

Nuts are perfect for finishing off Salads. They add a great flavor and most importantly of all, a wonderful, crunchy texture. You can use whatever nuts you like for this dish. We’ve opted for Almonds because they’re plentifully available all year round and they taste great

You can either use raw or roasted Almonds for this recipe, it doesn’t matter. Just be careful about the roasted ones as they are usually loaded up with Salt, which may alter the overall flavor balance of the dish. Raw is best to ensure you can control the Salt levels appropriately. They’re also better for you too!

Tomato Mint and Couscous Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups of Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• ½ Red Onion, finely chopped
• 2 cups of Fresh Mint, roughly chopped
• ½ cup Almonds, roughly chopped
• 200g Bocconcini, cut into quarters (you can also use fresh Mozzarella)
• 200g / 7 oz. Pearl Couscous
• 400g / 14 oz. Water
• 2 tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. Sumac
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Combine the Cherry Tomatoes and Red Onions into a large Salad Bowl, then add the Olive Oil, Sumac, and Salt. Mix everything through well and then taste for seasoning, adjusting if required. Allow to sit while you prepare the Couscous
2. Pour the Water to a Saucepan and bring to a boil, then add the Couscous. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the Water has been absorbed. Add a pinch of Salt, mix well then strain any excess water and allow the Couscous to cool
3. Once cooled, add the Couscous to the Tomato and Onions along with the freshly chopped Mint, Bocconcini, and chopped Almonds. Mix well then drizzle with a touch more Olive Oil
4. Reserve a few whole Mint leaves to place on top of the Salad as a garnish and serve
   
   

Recipe Notes

• Try adding different spices to the Tomatoes for some unique flavor profiles. Some other spices you can use instead of Sumac are Paprika, Cumin, Coriander Powder, or Celery Salt
• You can try replacing Mint with Basil for a completely unique flavor profile, more in the vein of a Caprese Salad
  
  

This Tomato Mint and Couscous Salad is bursting with bright, refreshing flavors making it perfect for a light Summer Dinner. In fact, it’s a great salad to enjoy all year around!

We’ve got loads more delicious and healthy recipes just like this one all over our website. Here are a few of our favorites that we recommend trying if you enjoy this recipe:

• Beef and Barley Soup with Vegetables
• Tomato and Lentil Salad with Basil and Goats Cheese
• Chopped Salmon Salad with Candied Peanuts
• Roast Vegetable Lentil Salad
  
  

Happy Cooking!