Pearl Couscous Salad-Dinner under $10

 After last week's red quinoa dish, we decided to continue our New Year's resolution and raided our local Whole Food's bulk section for more interesting ingredients.

We picked up some pearl or Israeli couscous - larger in size than the small grain French couscous we usually make - and made ourselves a very inexpensive meal. 

 

 Ingredients (approx $5):

1 cup Israeli Pearl Couscous ($2)

1 1/2 cup boiling water (low-sodium broth could also be used to add more flavor)

1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved ($1)

1 cup English Cucumber, chopped ($1)

1/2 Red onion, diced ($0.50)

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1/2 Lemon, squeezed ($0.50)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried mint (1/4 cup of fresh mint would be better if you had it on hand)

 

 Directions:

 1. Boil water and cook couscous (approx 10  minutes).  Pearl couscous is a baked wheat pasta, like Italian orzo, and takes longer to cook than the semolina, small grain couscous.

2.  While couscous is cooking, mix together the vegetables and seasoning.

3.  Once couscous is cooled, add together with vegetables.  Drizzle olive oil and mix together.

 

This easy salad makes for a vibrant alternative to rice or pasta.  It would make a good side dish for a meat entree.  We like the tapioca-like texture of the couscous and could imagine using it in a sweet dish (perhaps with fruit, honey, and cinnamon).