Greek Couscous Salad with Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Chickpeas and Feta

Greeek coucous with tomatoes, cucumber, feta and chickpeas

This simple salad is easy to make, but the taste is a complex and delicious combination of textures and tastes. It’s especially flavorful in the summer, using classic homegrown vegetables such as cucumbers and tomatoes. With feta cheese and chickpeas (garbanzo beans), it is a meal in itself. At Running with Tweezers, where I found this recipe, shredded chicken is suggested - sounds delicious, but I kept it really simple with just the veggies and cheese.

• Water - 1 1/2  cups
• Couscous - 1 cup
• Oregano - 1 tsp., dried
• Plum tomatoes - 2 cups, diced
• Cucumber - 1, diced
• Feta cheese - 1/3 cup, crumbled
• Greek or black olives - 1/4 cup, pitted and halved
• Red Onion - 1/4 medium, diced
• Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) - 1 can, drained

Dressing

• Water - 1/4 cup
• Lemon Juice - 3 Tblsp.
• Olive Oil - 1 1/2 Tblsp. (extra virgin)
• Salt - 1/4 tsp.
• Black pepper - 1/4 tsp.

1. Boil 1 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan.
2. Stir in couscous and oregano.
3. Cover and remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.
4. Fluff with a fork and combine with tomatoes, cucumber, onion, feta cheese, olives and chickpeas.
5. In a separate small bowl, combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk well.
6. Pour dressing over couscous mixture, and toss gently to thoroughly coat and mix all ingredients.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate for later use.  Stores well for a few days, so this is a good make-ahead dish.

Other Greek-style dishes you might like:

• Grilled Chicken with Vegetables
• Grilled Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Feta and Spinach
• Creamy Dill Cucumber Salad
  

Tags: cheese, couscous, cucumber, Greek, salad, Summer, tomatoes, Vegetarian