Israeli Couscous with Green Beans, Feta, and Pistachios

This is the second recipe I tried from May's Everyday Food Magazine. (Here is the the first one) I have cooked with Israeli couscous but I had never tried it in a cold salad before and that and the combo of ingredients intrigued me.

Israeli Couscous with Green Beans, Feta, and Pistachios

Serves 4, Prep Time 15 minutes, Total Time 15 minutes

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 1/2 cups Israeli (pearl) couscous

1/2 lb green beans (stem ends removed), halved crosswise

1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and sliced

1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)

1/2 cup pistachios, toasted

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1) In a medium pot of boiling, salted water, cook couscous for 4 minutes. Add green beans, and cook until couscous is al dente and beans are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes more. Drain, and run under cold water until cool.

2) Transfer green beans and couscous to a large bowl. Add cucumber, feta, pistachios, raisins, vinegar, and oil. Season with salt and pepper, toss to combine.

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This salad had good flavors and textures and went together quickly and easily, making it a good warm weather dinner option. I served it with some pesto salmon which might have been a little bit too much "green" on the plate. I loved the couscous cold and plan to play around with the salad idea using some different flavor combos.