Cous cous with raw vegetables

On hot summer days, a cold dish prepared with fresh vegetables can be a real pleasure to enjoy. Without sacrificing taste, we can for example prepare an excellent cous cous with raw vegetables; easy, appetising, nutritious and fresh. A good recipe for lunch at the office, a dinner saver for those who want to improvise an evening with friends. Below is the step-by-step recipe for four people. In addition to or instead of the vegetables listed among the ingredients, you can indulge yourself with various other seasonal vegetables. 

The ingredients for couscous with raw vegetables

  • 250 g couscous
  • 1 red and yellow pepper
  • 1 cucumber
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 untreated organic lemon
  • 1 Tropea red onion
  • Fresh parsley
  • Fresh mint
  • Extra virgin olive oil to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste

How to prepare Cous cous with raw vegetables

Peel and thinly slice the Tropea onion and place it in a container with cold water.

We toast the couscous in a frying pan for a few minutes, taking care to stir it so that the toasting is as even as possible, then season with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

We cook the couscous according to the directions on the packet, generally adding as much boiling salted water as the weight of the couscous to be cooked. Once cooked, we shell the couscous using the tines of a fork and allow it to cool to room temperature.

We wash and clean our vegetables: cucumber, tomatoes and peppers, cutting them into slices or cubes depending on the vegetable, then place them in a fairly large bowl.

We prepare an emulsion with a base of EVO oil (3-4 tablespoons), a pinch of lemon zest and 2-3 teaspoons of juice, and season with salt and pepper. We drain the onion from the water, add it to the other vegetables and pour the cooled couscous into the pair. We season with the oil emulsion and add a few mint leaves and parsley. We mix everything well.

We cover the salad bowl with cling film and place it in the refrigerator, leaving it to season for at least one hour. Before serving the cous cous with raw vegetables, leave it at room temperature for about half an hour.