Pearl couscous, cucumber and rocket salad with pesto

It is still spring and already heating up.  We have had a few years of mild summers but this one feels like it will be sizzling hot.  Stone fruit is plentiful in the shops, bush fire season has started and we are spending more time watering the garden.  Today is a scorcher of 36 C and tomorrow will be 37 C.  It is time for cooling green salads such as this Pearl Couscous, Cucumber and Rocket Salad with Pesto.

I first made the "Simple lemon arugula couscous feta salad" from Hungry Happens at the start of September (above photo).  We have made it quite a few times since then.  When I asked Sylvia how many she said "a bunch".  The version that I am sharing today was made by her.  She is a great cook but very intuitive.  Blogging has got me into the habit of checking by weight or cups or spoons how much I add for each ingredient.  Sylvia is more like the Muppets Swedish chef just throwing in what she fancies.  

Hungry Happens does not add pesto to the recipe.  It is a perfectly excellent recipe without pesto.  But while I claim to measure, the salad dressing in that recipe has more oil that I would usually use so we have tinkered with it and not found what works best for us.  The Sylvia tried it with pesto and it was excellent.  So I got pretty good quantities from my previous experience of the salad and from Sylvia's memory.  After all, salad is often a matter of preference rather than precision.

Much depends on the pesto in this salad!  Sylvia does not like nuts in her pesto.  Sadly, she has not inherited my love of nuts.  (I blame her peanut allergy!)  But she adds lots of flavour.  She has been watching the basil in the supermarket over spring, waiting until the bunches have healthy large leaves and generous amounts.  We have basil in the garden but it is a little shy right now.  As soon as she found basil up to her standards, she was making pesto.  Hers is not at all traditional with additional leafy greens and some cream cheese.  

Despite there being many variations on pesto, most would work well in this salad.  You just need that wonderful bright aroma of basil, the creamy texture and a well seasoned lemon and garlic flavour.  However it means you might need to adjust your salad dressing.  If it is very oily and runny, you might need less oil.  The amount of citrus juice and seasoning would depend on how your pesto is seasoned.

Aside from this version of the salad being a fine meal, one reason that I am sharing it is that I took quite a few photos of it.  I have made the couscous salad too many times after the sun has set.  Now that we have longer nights, it is getting easier to take photos.  And this is one beautiful green salad.

This salad is substantial enough to have a standalone meal.  The pearl couscous gives it some heft.  I haven't used it much in the past but there is much to love about the satisfying soft chewy balls of pasta.  We like to add edamame for some added green and protein.  The cucumber and rocket lighten the salad, making it perfect for a hot summer and the feta and olives add great flavour.  I am sure we will be eating this salad often over summer and highly recommend it to you.  Every time we make it, we finish it reluctantly saying "that is such an amazing salad"!  We already have planned to have it tomorrow to combat the heat!

More salads with lots of greens on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

Asparagus, strawberry and greens salad with poppyseed dressing (gf, v) 
Green bean and broccoli tabbouleh (v)
Leon superfood salad (gf)
Only-kale-can-save-us-now salad (gf, v)
Spinach salad with spiced nuts and cranberries (gf, v) 

Pearl couscous, cucumber and rocket salad with pesto
Adapted from Hungry Happens
Serves 4 as a meal, and more as a side salad

Salad:

3 cups cooked pearl couscous
150g rocket leaves
4 Lebanese cucumbers, sliced
1/2 cup cooked and cooled edamame beans
1/3 cup pimento stuffed green olives, halved
150g feta, crumbled 

Dressing:

1/3 cup pesto
Good glug of olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced (or lemon)
Seasoning

Pile the salad ingredients into a large salad bowl.  (The feta melts into the salad so you could save some to sprinkle on top at the end if you wish.)  Whisk the dressing ingredients together.  Pour over salad ingredients and toss to mix well.  Leftover will keep well in the fridge overnight but it is best when fresh.

Sylvia's creamy nut-free pesto

1 bunch basil
1-2 handfuls (approx) 40g rocket or spinach.
1 handful parsley
1/2 cup parmesan, finely grated
1 heaped dessertspoon cream cheese
2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp garlic granules
1/4 cup olive oil, or more
1 shake each of smoked paprika and mustard powder
Salt and pepper

Blitz in the food processor until blended.  Check and adjust oil for consistency and tweak the flavours such as seasoning and lemon juice.  Keeps well in the fridge for a few days.

NOTES:

• I always made more pearl (or Israeli) couscous than the recipe calls for because we love the leftovers.  To cook from dried, use 1 and 1/2 cups water per 1 cup of couscous (1 and 1/2 cups of dried pesto is probably enough for this salad) and simmer for 12-14 minutes.  I like to cook for 10-12 minutes and then leave it to steam with the lid on for the last few minutes so it is fluffy but not stuck to the bottom of the pan.  
• It is fine to add warm couscous to the salad; we have done this often.
  
• To make the salad gluten free, use brown rice, buckwheat groats or quinoa instead of pearl couscous. 
• To make the salad low carb, use cauliflower rice.
• To make the salad vegan, I would suggest substituting something like this tofu feta or you could drizzle a cheesy cashew cream over the salad after tossing.
  
• For the salad you can use any pesto from the shops or your kitchen.  The one here is made a lot in our kitchen.  I prefer one with nuts but it is great without.
• An alternative to the pesto dressing is to use a home made or bought vinaigrette.   
• I recently read that if you buy frozen edamame (which we often do) that some are already cooked and others need boiling for a few minutes.
• Rocket is also known as arugula in the USA. 
• Lebanese cucumbers are also known as Persian cucumbers - they are the short ones with a thin crisp skin that you can eat.

 Variation:  Pearl couscous, cucumber and rocket salad with vinaigrette

• (update Nov 2024) made it again with a vinaigrette style dressing - quite happy with it - drizzle of olive oil, half a lemon, 1 tsp seeded mustard, 1 tsp maple syrup, 1/2 to 1 tsp dried Italian herbs, few grinds each of salt and pepper.  I added the ingredients on top of the salad and mixed it in.
  

On the stereo:
Here Now Nowhere Records presents: A Day in the Strife: a compilation of local artists covering the Beatles: various artists (from Perth in Western Australia, 2023).