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Come tomato season (also known to some as late summer), I make crostini or bruschetta with the classic basil tomato topping to start as many meals as possible. Often I am happy with just the bruschetta or crostini as the meal itself.
But the vibrant, flavorful, simple mixture has other uses than just sitting prettily on top of a piece of toast. You can spoon some over a piece of simply grilled fish or chicken. You can toss it with pasta (warm or room temperature) with an extra few glugs of olive oil for a main course or side dish.
Or you can combine it with couscous, either Israeli/Mediterranean (the larger kind) or the traditional smaller pearled couscous (the Moroccan/North African/Middle Eastern kind). Couscous is tiny semolina pasta, and it cooks up very quickly, actually really just soaking up boiling water, so the stove isn’t on for long at all.
So, grab a knife, and chop up the tomatoes, basil and garlic that are filling the markets, or, if you’re lucky, your own garden. The more colors you can work in, the more dazzling the dish will be. You can also use cherry or grape tomatoes, and instead of chopping them cut them in half, or even quarters if they are on the larger side. Then pour the whole mixture over a big pile of couscous, toss it up, and sit down to the easiest, summeriest meal of the week.
15 minutes to to the easiest, summeriest, and possibly prettiest meal of the week (or a perfect side!)
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Tomato Bruschetta Couscous
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups water
- 2 cups couscous
- 5 cups cored, seeded and diced ripe tomatoes (about 4 large tomatoes; you can use any mixture of tomatoes)
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup slivered fresh basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt or to taste
- 1 Freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Stir in the couscous, cover the pot, remove from the heat and let sit for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork.
- Meanwhile combine the tomatoes, ⅓ cup olive oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium-sized bowl.
- If you want a warm salad, turn the couscous into a large bowl, pour the tomato mixture over, toss to combine and serve right away. Or, for a room temperature salad, cool the couscous to room temperature by spreading it out on a rimmed baking sheet, then turn into a bowl and toss with the tomato mixture.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.