Couscous Tomato (Pico de Gallo) and Zucchini Salad
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Last week was Holy Week, and that meant a long Holiday. I went away for a few days, and I was in charge of the lunch time salad. Rather than doing the old lettuce-tomato combo, I wanted to try something that would go well with grilled steak, using Pico de Gallo and would be fresh as well as filing. So, here is a Guatemalan version of a Couscous Tomato and Zucchinni Salad.
Additional to the zucchini, I added Pico de Gallo and Queso Fresco. Pico de Gallo is a fresh, uncooked salsa made from chopped tomato, white onion, lime juice or apple cider vinegar and fresh cilantro (coriander leaf). And for the Queso Fresco, it’s a Guatemalan-Mexican farmer’s cheese, but you can find this cheese at any US Walmart from the Cacique brand.
This salad was a huge success! Some of our friends haven’t had couscous before, and they were pleased. This is a crowd friendly recipe, giving about 12 big servings and it’s best served chilled.
Kitty
Cous Cous Tomato (Pico de Gallo) and Zucchini Salad
A Foodies’ Kitchen Original Recipe
Serves 12
Ingredients
2 cups of couscous, uncooked
3 cups of water
1 cup of vegetable or chicken stock
1 zucchini
1 bell pepper
1 1/2 cups Pico de Gallo, strained – recipe follows
1/2 Queso Fresco (farmer’s cheese), diced
Olive Oil, for serving
Directions:
- First, prepare the couscous. Bring 3 cups of water and 1 cup of vegetable stock to a boil. Remove from heat.
- Add couscous. Cover the pot and leave it for 8 min. Fluff it with a fork.
- Remove the couscous from the pot and transfer into a big bowl. Let it cool down for about 15 minutes.
- After the couscous cools, chop the zucchini and bell pepper. Add to the couscous. Mix a bit.
- Add the Pico de Gallo and diced Queso Fresco. If you don’t find Queso Fresco, you can substitute it with Feta Cheese. Mix well.
- Keep in the fridge until it’s time to serve. This salad is best cool.
- Serve with a drizzle of olive il.
Pico de Gallo
Ingredients
4 large plum tomatoes
1 medium sized white onion
1 cup of chopped cilantro, about half a bunch
1 tablespoon of salt
Juice of 2 limes
Directions:
- Dice tomatoes and onion. Chop cilantro.
- Put all ingredients in a bowl.
- Season with salt and the lime juice. Mix up.
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This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)
Comments (5)
hereswhatsgoingon
June 3, 2013 at 8:52 am
This looks delicious! I’m going to get the ingredients today, substituting Panamanian cheese for the Queso Fresco. Thanks for sharing!
Kitty
June 3, 2013 at 9:08 am
Make sure you do! It’s definitely a summer salad. I am going to make it again this week! Plus, you can omit serving potatoes, rice or pasta when preparing this salad :)
hereswhatsgoingon
June 4, 2013 at 11:29 am
I ended up substituting rice for quinoa, and adding some leftover steak. Yum! Thanks for the inspiration!
Kitty
June 4, 2013 at 11:33 am
Oh that’s a nice twist! We might have to try it ;) Thanks for posting back! We love that you got your inspiration from here!