A co-worker gave me this recipe over 20 years ago, and I have loved it ever since. She called it "M&M" salad because of all the bright colors looked like the original colors in a bag of candies... red, yellow, orange, green and 2 colors of brown. Back before there were blue M&M's....
This salad is easy, it's colorful and it's good for you... what else do you need?
You could also serve this as a side dish, with nothing more than a green salad and some grilled skewers of meat.
Serves about 6-8
Ingredients:
1 cup couscous
1 1/4 cup boiling water
1 lemon, juiced
2 cans 14 oz each, black beans, rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
8-9 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup parsley, minced
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1-2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
Boil the water in a small saucepan, add lemon juice and the couscous. Turn off the heat and cover, letting the couscous steam and absorb the liquid. It's okay if the couscous looks 'dry' because you'll be adding some dressing later on that will soak into the grains, making it taste terrific. Remove the lid and fluff it up with a fork. Let cool a bit while you prepare the rest of the salad.
Drain and rinse the two cans of black beans.
Chop the bell peppers into a uniform 1/4" to 1/2" dice. Slice green onions and mince the parsley. Set aside.
In a large serving bowl, make the dressing in the bottom of the bowl. Add the oil, red wine vinegar, cumin and salt and pepper. Whisk together the dressing then and add the drained and rinsed black beans. Top with the warm couscous and toss together. Add the chopped bell peppers, parsley and green onions. Serve warm, room temperatures or cold.
Yum, and the cumin makes the flavors really pop. It took me many years to realize how forgiving couscous is. Our Lebanese cookbook describes slowly steaming the couscous over a pot of broth. Your method makes the salad quick and painless to prepare. Thanks Got it Cook it!
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