Couscous Salad with cucumber, dill, tomato, and caramelized onion & carrot

“This is delicious when eaten straight away, but you can also make the salad, cover it and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. This way all the flavors marry & mingle, making for an even more delicious salad. If you are planning to make a day or two ahead of time, keep the tomatoes and the walnuts separate until you’re ready to serve so they remain crisp.” — Inspired Taste

Adapted from this recipe from Inspired Taste (image source) for the Week 8 CSA box with Gathering Together Farm’s 2020 Summer Season CSA.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups dried couscous (this recipe calls specifically for Israeli or pearl couscous, but you can use any couscous you have on hand too)

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• ¼ cup olive oil & a splash of toasted sesame oil

• ½ tsp honey

• ½-1 lemon, juiced

• 1-2 cucumbers, diced

• 1-2 large tomatoes, diced

• 1 bu. Fresh dill, coarsely chopped

• ¼ cup walnuts

• ¼ cup raisins (or at this time of year, fresh fruit!)

• 1 large sweet onion, sliced

• 3-6 carrots, finely sliced at an angle

• 2-3 cloves garlic, roughly minced

Directions

1. Sauté your onion in some oil in a pan, slowly so as to caramelize, adding your carrots in halfway through, and garlic in the last couple minutes. Set aside.

2. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add couscous and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes. Drain. (If using regular couscous, just boil water, pour it over the couscous, and leave lidded 10 minutes to cook thoroughly.)

3. While the couscous cooks, in a large bowl, whisk the oil, honey, lemon juice, salt, & pepper. Add the drained couscous to the dressing and mix well. Toss in sauté & mix.

4. Stir in the cucumber, tomato, dill, walnuts, and raisins. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Enjoy warm or cover then refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.