Mediterranean Couscous Salad with Ballymaloe Balsamic & Irish Apple Cider Vinegrette
- Cooking Time: 30 minutes - Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6
- Serves: 4
- Allergens: Nuts
Description
Full of the flavours of the Med, this couscous salad is an ideal addition to any barbecue or buffet. As a bonus, it can be made the night before as it keeps well overnight. Feel free to add or remove any veggies or nuts from our ingredients listing but – for us – the pomegranate, cranberries and courgettes are a must! Ballymaloe Balsamic & Irish Apple Cider Vinegrette offers a clean, sharp complement to this dish – so drizzle generously!
Ingredients
- 1 red pepper
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 aubergine
- 2 red onions
- 1 courgette
- 250g couscous
- 300ml vegetable stock (hot)
- Juice of half a lemon
- Seeds from half a pomegranate
- 25g toasted almonds (flaked)
- 50g toasted hazelnuts (whole & roughly chopped)
- 50g dried cranberries/raisins
- 8 cherry tomatoes (halved)
- 15g parsley (chopped)
- 15g mint (chopped)
- Salt & freshly-cracked black pepper
- Ballymaloe Balsamic & Irish Apple Cider Vinegrette
Dietary Suitability
- Dairy free
- Suitable for vegetarians
- Suitable for vegans
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.
- Peel the red onions and cut into wedges. Cut the other vegetables into 2 inch chunks.
- Toss the prepared vegetables in a bowl with one tablespoon of olive oil. Lightly season with salt & freshly-cracked black pepper
- Pop on to a roasting tray and oven roast for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are starting to char at the edges.
- In a medium saucepan, bring your vegetable stock to the boil. Stir in the couscous, then add 2 teaspoons of Ballymaloe Balsamic & Irish Apple Cider Vinegrette into the water along with the juice of half a lemon. Remove from the heat and cover tightly with a lid and let the couscous steam for 5 minutes. Fluff using a fork.
- Once your veggies have cooled, combine everything, including the pomegranate seeds, toasted chopped almonds and hazelnuts, the dried cranberries and/or raisins, a big bunch of chopped parsley and mint, sliced cherry tomatoes and a big drizzle of Ballymaloe Balsamic & Irish Apple Cider Vinegrette!
- Stir gently to combine, and place on a large serving platter with a few mint and parsley leaves scattered over the top to garnish.
