Summer Squash Couscous Salad

This couscous dish is the prefect way to use all those yellow squashes on sale right now. It’s delicious warm or cold and super filling. Plus, couscous is basically healthy pasta, right?

Ingredients:

For the Veggie Mix-

tbsp olive oil

1/4 large yellow onion, sliced

large clove garlic, minced

1 yellow squash, cubed

salt and pepper

2 tbsp water

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 cup northern beans, drained

1/2 cup tri colored cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp vegan parmesan (I used Follow Your Heart)

For the Couscous-

1 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp water

3/4 cup pearly couscous

1/2 tsp salt

For the Herby Dijon Vinaigrette-

2 tbsp olive oil

1.5 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 clove fresh garlic

1 tsp white wine vinegar

juice from 1/2 big lemon (save other 1/2 lemon for the salad later)

big pinch salt

bit pinch pepper

pinch dried basil

pinch dried parsley

 

How-to:

1. For the couscous, bring water, couscous and salt to a boil for 8 minutes. Sit aside until ready to use
2. For the vinaigrette, blend all the ingredients until creamy. If you do not have a high speed blender, first blend all ingredients besides olive oil. Slowly pour in oil to emulsify. I have a ninja blender which easily blends a creamy vinaigrette.
3. While couscous is cooking, prepare veggies as needed. Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan.
4. Add the sliced onion to the pan and sauté for 5 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic for one minute until fragrant, and add squash cubes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté mix for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally so that everything gets evenly cooked and browned.
5. Pour in 2 tbsp water, stir to get flavors off bottom of pan and let simmer 2 minutes until squash is softened.
6. Stir in basil, parsley, beans, and cherry tomatoes. Continue to simmer (add another tbsp water if needed) another 5 minutes. Do not stir frequently until tomatoes are blistered and water is evaporated.
7. Remove veggie mix from heat and stir in couscous, parmesan, lemon juice and vinaigrette. Start off with a tbsp of vinaigrette and a tsp of lemon juice at a time. Stir until creamy and flavorful. Keep in mind the vinaigrette is a bit bitter, so taste as your add.
8. The vinaigrette mix makes about 1/4 cup, but I never use more than 1/2 of that for this recipe. Save it and use it for an easy salad dressing. Enjoy!