Couscous salad recipe

This easy vegetable and feta couscous salad is speedy to make and so tasty - perfect for serving up for a quick, satisfying lunch. 

With just a handful of ingredients, it's amazing just how much bright and fresh flavour this salad has. The sweet cherry tomatoes and salty feta are the perfect combination for summer dining. You can serve this as a light meal, but it also makes a great side dish to have at a barbecue or as part of a picnic or buffet spread. It's a great, affordable dish, one of our best summer cheap family meals. You can add any other extra leftover vegetables or herbs you might have to hand too, to make it go even further.

Ingredients

• 250g couscous
• 6 tbsp virgin olive oil
• Zested rind and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 bunch spring onions, sliced
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• 350-500g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 200g pack feta cheese, cubed
• 2-3 tbsp freshly chopped chives, plus chives for garnish

Method

1. Tip the couscous into a bowl and pour over 400ml boiling water. Mix well, then leave it to stand for about 5 minutes, stirring it occasionally to keep the grains of couscous separate.
2. Stir in the olive oil, lemon zest and juice and salt and pepper into the couscous and mix well.
3. Stir in the spring onions, celery, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese. Spoon into serving bowls and garnish with chives, to serve.

Top tip for making couscous salad

For more flavour, make the couscous with chicken or vegetable stock instead of water. Plum cherry tomatoes have a sweeter flavour than regular cherry tomatoes, so they're our favourite kind to use here.