Tag: vegetarianreceipe

Mediterranean Chickpea & Cucumber Couscous Salad

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When the temperatures climb, the last thing most of us want is to spend an hour standing over a hot stove. This Mediterranean Chickpea & Cucumber Couscous Salad is light, refreshing, and packed with vibrant flavors. Protein-rich chickpeas, crisp vegetables, fresh herbs, and a bright lemon dressing make it satisfying enough for dinner while keeping things cool and effortless. For a completely vegan meal, simply skip the feta or use your favorite plant-based alternative.

Ingredients

For the salad:

  • 1 cup couscous (or use pearl couscous, quinoa, or bulgur)
  • 1 cup boiling vegetable broth or water
  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 English cucumber, diced
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ red onion, finely diced
  • ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
  • ½ cup crumbled feta (optional or use vegan feta)

For the dressing:

  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice of 1 large lemon
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Place the couscous in a large bowl and pour the boiling broth over it. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and allow it to cool slightly.
  2. Add the chickpeas, cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, parsley, mint, and feta.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper.
  4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until everything is evenly coated.
  5. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more lemon juice, salt, or pepper if needed.
  6. Serve immediately or chill for 20–30 minutes for an even more refreshing meal.

Tips & Variations

  • Add diced avocado just before serving for extra creaminess.
  • Toss in grilled zucchini, roasted peppers, or fresh spinach for more vegetables.
  • Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts or sliced almonds for crunch.
  • Swap couscous for quinoa to make the dish gluten-free.

Why It’s Perfect for Summer

This recipe requires minimal cooking, is loaded with seasonal vegetables, and tastes even better after chilling in the refrigerator. It’s ideal for busy weeknights, outdoor dining, meal prep lunches, or bringing to picnics and potlucks. The combination of fresh herbs and bright lemon dressing keeps every bite light, flavorful, and refreshing—exactly what you want on a warm summer evening.

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Make Pesto Like A True Italian! Easy Recipe!

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Many of you may not know, but I’m half Italian and grew up living in various Italian cities. For this reason, I’m always hesitant to dine out at Italian restaurants in America, because it’s rarely anything remotely close to what the original recipe really is. I always feel bad having to break the news to Americans that their most coveted Italian dish (Chicken Alfredo) is merely an American concoction that doesn’t exist in Italy.

When it comes to pesto, the secret is in the preparation. If you’ve ever actually been to Italy and had a chance to taste the pesto there, you will notice right away that it’s vastly different from the Americanized counterpart you find here in the U.S. at restaurants or sold in jars at stores. First of all, the real meaning of “pesto” in Italian is to “grind/smash.” That means in the original Italian recipe you DO NOT use a food processor or hand blender to get the ingredients to become a paste. Rather, you place all the ingredients in a mortar bowl and grind them using a pestle (see photo for example). This method requires you to manually grind all the ingredients together till it becomes a texturized paste.

pestogrinder

This may take you between 20-25 mins. I know many of us lead very busy lives and may find this takes too long and wish to skip this step and use a food processor, but if you truly want to experience an authentic Italian pesto, you must take the long way! The beauty of this though is, that you can make extra and freeze what you won’t be using, to be consumed at a later date. So pretty much it’s a far more invigorating and delicious meal prep trick!

Ingredients:

1 Large bunch of basil leaves (about 30 leaves washed & dried)

1-2 Tablespoons of Raw Pine Nuts (I love pine nuts so usually go with 2)

3 Medium cloves of garlic

2 Tablespoon of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

2 Tablespoon of freshly grated Peccorino Romano cheese

3 Tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

A pinch of salt

Directions:

Begin by chopping up the garlic cloves in four squares and cutting the basil leaves in half (if they’re too large). Once you’re done with this, place both of them in a mortar dish and using the pestle begin to grind and smash them. Do this until they’re completely minced. At this point, add the pine nuts (you may wish to chop the pine nuts if you want to speed up the process first) and using the pestle, mince them along with the first two ingredients. Now you add half of the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese to the mortar and grind and then add the other half. Repeat these steps for the Peccorino Romano cheese as well. Using the pestle, grind till all the ingredients are minced in a paste-like manner. Once you’re satisfied with the consistency, then you add the olive oil and salt to the mortar and using a teaspoon stir all the ingredients together. And you’re done!

Depending on how much pesto you use, this amount can be used for up to 3 dishes of pasta.

This is a very nutritious and delicious recipe that it’s hard not to love!

You can use any kind of pasta for pesto, below I chose to make it with orecchiette pasta because they’re one of my faves, but you can also use spaghetti or zitti if you prefer!

pesto

Buon Appetito!

By: Azzurra Nox