Skip to main content

Tasty Tuesday - Greek Style Kale Couscous Salad

Last week Jason had picked up some heirloom tomatoes. I had grabbed kale. I really had no specific plans for the kale, and Jason had just been using the tomatoes on sandwiches. But when it came time to come up with something for dinner, I thought the kale and tomatoes would go really well together along with some Greek flavor profiles like olives, feta, sundried tomatoes.

Initially, I thought I might just go with quinoa, but realized I had some Israeli couscous in the cabinet. So, I decided to go with that instead. I knew it would have a lot more texture and bite to it. And if you don't have the Israeli couscous, you can use any grain of choice. I think orzo pasta would also be fantastic. 

Greek Style Kale Couscous Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 1/4 cup water
1 large bunch kale, de-stemmed, chopped
 1/2 small red onion, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup white wine or vegetable broth
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, reconstituted and diced
1/8 cup kalamata olives, chopped (more or less depending on preferences)
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
Handful fresh parsley, minced
1 heirloom tomato, diced
Salt, to taste
Feta, optional

Directions: 
Prepare couscous per package instructions.

In a large skillet, sauté onions, garlic, and kale in wine. Cover to allow kale to steam.

When the couscous is done, transfer to a large bowl and add in the vinegar, parsley, salt, and nutritional yeast flakes. Stir to combine. Add in the olives, chickpeas, and sun dried tomatoes. Once the kale is done, add to the mixture. Allow to cool some before adding in the feta and fresh tomatoes. Gently mix. Serve room temperature or cold.





I loved the extra texture the Israeli couscous added to this dish along with the texture from the kale. I'm not normally a raw tomato fan, but the heirloom tomatoes were a whole new ballgame. So full of depth and flavor.

What's even better is that this can be eaten room temp or cold. So, you can prepare ahead of time. It would be fantastic to take along on a summer picnic as well.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I Run to Feel Alive

Today is National Running Day . Guess what I did this morning? Cycling? Nope. Lifting? Nope. I bet you thought kickboxing right? Nope. Running? But of course! I actually sort of planned my running days this week just so I could participate this year. I didn't get to run last year and didn't even know about it the year before. But running has become such an integral part of my life and who I am, that I couldn't miss this year. Basically, I run to feel alive . It calms me, it helps me work through life, it's often a reason to get out of bed. No matter how tough a run is, it makes you feel ... period. My plan was to get in 5 miles (got in 5.5 actually). It was about 10 degrees warmer this morning and definitely more humid. That always makes for a tougher run. We decided to take a different route today. Well, it was really only a few streets over different, but still. The point is we took a different street. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not. I did realize th...

Love in Photos

In honor of Valentine's Day - Love in Photos Husband Family and Furbabies Friends Even if you're not a fan of Valentine's Day - I hope you have a wonderful day and remember the loves in your life.

Taco Thursday

Rest for the Weary  Today I have some DOMS going on from yesterday's biceps/triceps/shoulder workout. I only briefly thought about getting up for an early run, but our lows were going to be 79/80 degrees, and the humidity is extreme - makes the heat so much worse. So I didn't even bother with a run or pretending to think about a run. I had really wanted to do back and chest today, but my arms are too sore and the workout would have suffered as a result. Believe it or not, I do know my limits. So today was a rest day. I really wish that I could have mustered the energy for a cardio only day though because this means I'll have to force my rear out of bed tomorrow morning in order to get the workout done. The dogs are getting groomed (very much overdue) in the morning so Jason will take them in, but I will have to pick them up after work. Sometimes I think morning workouts are worse when I know they are a must. Hmmm, need to refocus how I think about them. Tomorrow I wil...