Mediterranean couscous salad

• 1.5 cupscouscous
• 1.5 cupsvegetable broth · boiling
• 1/4 cupolive oil
• 2lemons · juiced
• 2 clovesgarlic · grated
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 canchickpeas · drained, rinsed
• 1 pintcherry tomatoes · halved
• 1cucumber · diced
• 1/2red onion · sliced thin
• 1/2 cupKalamata olives
• 1/2 cupfeta · crumbled
• 1 handfulfresh parsley · chopped
• 1 handfulfresh mint · chopped
• kosher salt · to taste
• black pepper · to taste

Method

1. 1

   Steam the couscous, don't boil it

   A cup and a half of dry couscous, an equal volume plus a splash of boiling broth poured over, a lid on, off the heat for five minutes, then fluff with a fork. Couscous is steamed, not simmered: it never goes on a flame, which is why this is a no-burner, 20-minute dish for a hot June kitchen. Use broth instead of water and a glug of olive oil in the pot so the grains separate and taste of something.

2. 2

   Build the dressing in the bottom of the bowl

   A quarter cup of good olive oil, the juice of two lemons, two grated garlic cloves, a teaspoon of dried oregano, half a teaspoon of salt, and a few grinds of pepper, whisked in the bottom of the serving bowl before anything else goes in. A three-to-one oil-to-acid ratio is the classic vinaigrette, but couscous drinks a lot, so this leans more acidic on purpose. Whisk until it looks creamy and emulsified.

3. 3

   Dress the couscous while it's hot

   Tip the warm, fluffed couscous straight onto the dressing and fold it through while the grains are still hot. Hot grains absorb dressing; cold grains let it pool. This single step is the difference between a salad that tastes seasoned all the way through and one that is bland with an oily bottom. Let it sit five minutes to drink it in, then taste and add salt.

4. 4

   Chickpeas are the protein, and they earn their place

   A drained, rinsed can of chickpeas folded in adds about 7g of protein per serving and the body that turns a side dish into a lunch. Dry them on a towel first so they do not water down the dressing. This is what takes the salad from a starchy side to a 14g-protein meal you can actually eat for lunch and not be hungry at three.

5. 5

   Add the vegetables after the couscous cools

   A pint of cherry tomatoes halved, a cucumber diced, half a red onion sliced thin, and a handful of Kalamata olives, folded in once the couscous has come down to room temperature. Add them to hot couscous and the tomatoes turn to mush and the cucumber wilts. Salt the tomatoes a few minutes before they go in so they release a little brine that seasons the whole bowl.

6. 6

   Feta in at the end, gently

   Half a cup of feta crumbled over and folded once at the very end so it stays in pieces rather than smearing into paste. Buy a block in brine and crumble it yourself; pre-crumbled is dry and chalky. The feta is the salty backbone, so go easy on added salt until you have tasted with it in.

7. 7

   Herbs by the handful, not the sprig

   A big handful each of chopped parsley and mint, or dill if you prefer. In a couscous salad the herbs are an ingredient, not a garnish: they are what makes it taste fresh and Mediterranean rather than like seasoned starch. Stir them through at the end with the feta so they stay bright green and do not bruise.

8. 8

   Rest it, then taste again

   Let the finished salad sit 15 minutes, or ideally an hour, before serving. Cold dulls salt and acid, so a salad that tasted perfect warm will taste flat from the fridge, taste it again before serving and add lemon and salt to wake it up. This is the most-skipped step and the reason restaurant grain salads taste seasoned and home ones taste dull.

9. 9

   Make it a meal: add a protein anchor

   As written with chickpeas it is a 14g-protein lunch on its own. To make it a dinner, top each bowl with grilled chicken, a tin of good tuna, or a couple of soft-boiled eggs, which pushes it to 30g-plus. The salad is the base; the anchor is optional but it is how you turn a side into a centerpiece for a summer table.

10. 10

    It keeps four days and gets better

    Store it covered in the fridge for four days; the flavor deepens as the couscous keeps absorbing the dressing, which makes this one of the rare salads that is better on day two. The only casualty is the cucumber, which softens, so if you are batching for the week, fold the cucumber in fresh each day. Travels to work without weeping because there is no leafy green to wilt.