Description
Pearl couscous makes this fresh fig salad with goat cheese, toasted walnuts and arugula so satisfying. It’s tossed in balsamic vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- For couscous
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup pearl couscous (whole wheat, if possible)
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon water
- For vinaigrette
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- For salad
- 10 fresh figs, stems trimmed, quartered
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
- 1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 5 ounces baby arugula
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- For the couscous, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Toast the couscous for 2-3 minutes until golden, stirring frequently. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until the couscous is tender and most of the water has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Drain any remaining water.
- For the vinaigrette, whisk together the honey, mustard, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
- To assemble the salad, combine the figs, red onions, walnuts, goat cheese, arugula and parsley in a large bowl. Drizzle in the vinaigrette, tossing to combine.
Notes
If you are planning to save some of the salad, do not toss is in the vinaigrette. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Keep the salad dressing separate.
Instead of walnuts, you can also use chopped almonds or pecans.
You can swap the goat cheese and use feta, blue cheese or gorgonzola instead.
Keywords: fig salad
I love the simplicity of the recipe, and I will definitely give it a try! toasted couscous will also add a smokey fantastic dimension to the couscous!!
★★★★★
I love the simplicity of the recipe, and I will definitely give it a try!
★★★★★
Also forgot to mention that toasting the couscous was genius. The package instructions didn’t say that. Also, instead of fresh shallots I used Penzey’s air-dried shallots which I added when the hot water was poured in for the couscous. Great pantry item.
I need to try air-dried shallots!!!
Hi Paige – This salad recipe landed in my email on the perfect morning. I happened to have all the ingredients (with a few minor subs) and made it for lunch. I had exactly 12 figs that needed to be used up, the exact amount of courcous and the arugula. For the lemon juice, I subbed rice vinegar and for the walnuts, I used pistachios.
Delish!
Hi Sophie. That sounds wonderful! When I was working on the recipe I thought about using pistachios, but I had walnuts in my pantry!