I think this salad is a knockout, and totally reminds me of a lovely, spa day with the girls to replenish and bask in the sweet taste of, "All I do is win."
This red stunner goes really well with a bellini and fills you with protein, good fat, sweetness without added sugar, fiber, whole grain, and fresh herbs. Normally, we don't often see strawberries in grain salads but maybe it's time because strawberries add a fun natural fruity sweetness.
The fresh fennel complements the strawberries well like a Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds after the first kiss kind of tenderness. See what I did there?
Since, we're speaking of berries from the farmers market, you could do a version of this salad using cranberries, raspberries or blackberries. That would be some fun experimenting.
Something important to note, I always buy organic strawberries because according to the EWG Dirty Dozen, strawberries rank 2nd with the most pesticide residue.
This couscous salad is also super easy to make and great to take to a picnic, BBQ or brunch. You could use regular couscous, but I like Israeli couscous for this dish because of it's pearl-like texture.
Ingredients (serves 4-5):
- 3 cups cooked Israeli Couscous
- 8 strawberries thinly sliced
- 1/2 large avocado sliced into cubes
- 2 sprigs of fresh fennel chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Salad dressing:
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Juice from 1/2 of a lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl really well. If you want a little more tang, add either more mustard or lime juice.
In a big mixing bowl, put in the couscous, strawberries, fennel, and walnuts. Pour the dressing into the bowl and massage by hand mixing everything together.
Toss in the avocado cubes and hand mix them into the salad.
Using your hands to mix everything together versus using a spoon coats the couscous with dressing better plus is less damaging to the delicacy of the strawberries and avocado, not to mention you are mixing in some literal hand lovin' - good energy.
Enjoy!
