Couscous Salad with Yellow Zucchini
Yellow zucchini? I’ve never heard of yellow zucchini, there were a number of different types of zucchini in Italy, but they were all different tones of green, never yellow. It must be some sort of hybrid with yellow squash, who knows, I always got C’s in biology in high school, so I won’t even start asking those questions. They were beautiful, so they came home with me.
I had a really hard time figuring out what to do with them, I feel like I make too much pasta, so I didn’t want to make them for a pasta dish, I thought about making them for a scapece, with mint and a dash of balsamic vinegar, a quiche, but none of that sounded good to me. So I went with a couscous salad, perfect for the dog days of summer, keeping the kitchen nice and cool and eating something that wouldn’t heat our bodies up either. I used baby spinach, mint, a farmers market tomato and toasted green pumpkin seeds, which have recently become the new pine nut in my kitchen, mmmmm, so delicious.
Couscous Salad with Yellow Zucchini
- 1 cup couscous
- 1¼ cups water
- 4 medium yellow zucchini (green zucchini will also work)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 3 tbsp mint, chopped
- ½ cup toasted green pumpkin seeds
Wash and thinly slice zucchini into half-moons. Heat 2 tbsps of the oil in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat and add the whole cloves of garlic. When garlic starts to sizzle add slices of zucchini. Sauté zucchini over high heat for about five minutes or until they start to brown, lower heat to a medium flame. You need to make sure to turn the zucchini frequently so that it doesn’t burn. When the zucchini is done, place them on a paper towel with a slotted spoon to absorb the excess oil.
For couscous pour water and the remaining tbsp of olive oil in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. When the water is boiling remove from heat and add the couscous making sure that all of the couscous is covered by the water. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes. Add butter and fluff the couscous with a fork over a light flame.
Allow the couscous to cool in a bowl large enough for you to toss the other ingredients in. Add the zucchini and toss, followed by the remaining ingredients. This should be served at room temperature as a main course or as a side dish.
Italicious 