Giant Couscous Salad

There are certain meals that you remember for the rest of your life - dishes that stick out and set the tone for the rest of the day or evening. This recipe is one of my favorite starters, borrowed from my friend Justin in Baltimore. He made it for a goodbye party that our coworkers threw for outgoing staff. It's easy to modify, depending on what you happen to have around the kitchen. Substituting the dressing for a honey-dijon glaze can also work.



Ingredients:

giant (Israeli) cous cous
toasted almond slices
red onion
cilantro or parsley
feta
dried cranberries
beets (optional)

red wine vinegar
honey
salt/pepper/olive oil
garlic (roasted or raw. I prefer raw, but I like things spicy)
vegetable/chicken stock

Toast the dry cous cous a little in a pan with olive oil on medium heat. Add vegetable stock (two-to-one ratio with the cous cous should be plenty - or water if you don't have stock), cover and let simmer until done (should be the size of pencil erasers when done). Rinse in a collander with cold water to bring down the heat just a little and keep the cous cous from continuing to cook in it's own heat.

Add roasted beets (diced), thinly sliced red onion, feta, & parsley (any greens will really do here - beet greens, cilantro, etc). Just make sure it's pretty finely chopped, because it's as much for color as anything else - it's not supposed to be too salad-y. If you're using red beets, you might want to add them last or even per serving (unless you want the entire dish to come out red, which looks pretty too).

Dress it with leftover red wine (I keep a bottle of dregs) and/or red wine vinegar, olive oil, honey (mix it in the vinegar first), coarse ground black pepper, and salt and garlic to taste.