Pearl Couscous Salad with Garlic Oil

This is a super healthy and absolutely delicious meal. It stores so well and tastes amazing the next day as a cold lunch too. This is one of those recipes that you can overeat without feeling guilty. Pearl couscous is a lot bigger than regular couscous and needs to be actually cooked unlike the regular one that you just soak in boiling water. There are three steps to this dish. First, the flavored garlic oil. The next step is cooking the couscous. The third step while the couscous is cooking, is getting the vegetables ready @sarchakra

PREP TIME: 20 mins

COOK TIME: 15 mins

YIELDS: Serves or makes 4-5

Flavored oil

• Garlic 5 cloves
• Olive oil 3 tbsp 

Method

• Heat 2 tbsp oil and sauté garlic on a low simmer till the garlic is cooked through. This should take 8 mins or so.
• Turn off the heat. Cool and keep aside. 

Pearl Couscous 

• Pearl Couscous 5 oz 
• Water 1 & ¼ cups 
• Garlic powder 2 tsp 
• Onion flakes 1 tbsp 
• Dried parsley 1 tbsp 
• Sage 1 tsp 
• Marjoram 1 tsp 
• Romano cheese 3 tbsp 
• Parmesan 2 tbsp 
• Black peppercorns 1 tbsp, crushed 
• Sea salt 

Method

• Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil. Toast pearl couscous for a minute or so.
• Add garlic powder, onion flakes, marjoram, sage and dried parsley. Add water. Season with salt and pepper.
• Bring to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
• Mix in grated Romano and Parmesan cheese. 

Vegetables 

• Cucumber 1 cup 
• Lettuce 1 cup 
• Tomato 1, chopped 
• Red pepper ½, chopped 
• Yellow pepper, ½, chopped 
• Lemon juice 1 tbsp 
• Lemon wedges 2
• Onion 1, chopped 

Method 

• Mix in cucumber, lettuce, tomato, red pepper, yellow pepper, onion with the cooked couscous.
• Sprinkle with lemon juice. Pour garlic oil and mix into the couscous. Serve with lemon wedges.