Summer Cous Cous Salad

Name: Summer Cous Cous Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean
Ingredients: 3 1/2 wt. oz cous cous; 5 fl oz boiling water; 1 large tomato, cubed; 1/3 medium cucumber, cubed; 1 small onion, diced; 1 tbsp Cornflower; A few fresh pansies; 1 tbsp freeze-dried raspberry crumb raspberry; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 handful fresh herbs; salt and pepper to taste

Delicious summer cous cous salad decorated with pansies and cornflowers

by Cory Varga

Updated 21 December 2024

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If you are after a showstopper summer cous cous salad you've come to the right place. This stunning fresh and vibrant cous cous salad features gorgeous edible flowers, delicious raspberry crumbs and passion fruit dust.

Instant showstopped summer cous cous salad with edible flowers

Not only this salad looks incredible but it's filling and ideal for a quick and easy lunch during the summer heat. I love experimenting with fresh and crunchy ingredients as you know because I previously made and recommend carrot and mango salad as well as delicious mango salsa. Also ideal for when you want a light and refreshing lunch.

And if you decide to have a summer BBQ, you have my full support to serve this amazing cous cous salad with pansies, so everyone can enjoy a satisfying yet visually appealing side dish. It goes really well with my vegan steak and vegan sausages for the grill.

Delicious summer cous cous with edible flowers pansies and lemon

Summer Cous Cous with Edible Flowers

You will need a few simple ingredients for the summer cous cous salad. First and foremost let's talk about the choice for edible flowers. I recommend whatever is seasonal and can find at your local grocery shop.

If you happen to have your own garden where you can grow edible flowers, you can just get a handful of those. For example, I have a few flowerpots full of pansies so that's my go-to edible flower. You can also buy dried cornflower. It lasts forever and makes everything look so beautiful.

Cous Cous - Purchase any type of cous cous you can find. I found a well-priced bio cous cous at my local supermarket. All you need is 100 grams of cous cous for two people so you know a whole bag will last for a long time. You can make this recipe with pearl cous cous also if you prefer. I already have a zesty salad made with pearl cous cous if you like that more.

Lemon Juice - You can either buy 100% bio lemon juice or freshly squeeze a lemon before making this dish. The choice is yours. If you like zesty flavours but lemon juice feels too sour for you, you can use orange juice if you prefer.

Olive Oil - I recommend a good quality extra virgin olive oil. I just love the taste of it and it brings the flavours out from the tomato and cucumber.

summer cous cous salad close up with pansies

Fresh Herbs - You can use parsley, coriander or a combination of the two. You can never have too much herb in this salad. I love fresh herbs so much, they really give the cous cous salad an earthy, refreshing taste.

Tomato - You will need a nice and ripe tomato, cubed.

Cucumber - Use a 1/3 of your cucumber and cube it for this salad. You can leave the skin of the cucumber on.

Onion - One red onion, diced. You can use yellow onion if that's the only one you have or spring onion if you want a softer onion taste.

Edible Flowers - As previously mentioned, I used pansies and cornflower but you can decorate this summer cous cous salad with the edible flowers of your choice. I just rather love the way pansies look like. So gorgeous.

Freeze-Dried Raspberry Crumbs - I know freeze-dried fruit can be very expensive but usually, you need just a little bit for every recipe. So a bag can last for a long time. I especially love using freeze-dried raspberries because they add a bit of tart to my dishes. I use them for many dessert recipes too.

Passion Fruit Powder - This is to add a touch of gold to your salad and bring a bit of acid flavour to the initial taste. I love it but you don't have to add it to the salad if you don't want to. I had a lot left in my pantry from the time I made these apricot bliss balls.

closeup of edible blue pansy on summer cous cous

How to make the summer cous cous

This is the easiest summer salad ever! You will need to place the cous cous, onion, tomato, cucumber, herbs, olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl. Add the water and cover for 5-7 minutes until the cous cous absorbs all the water.

Mix to ensure all ingredients are evenly distributed. Now add to a serving bowl and decorate with edible flowers. Scatter the freeze-dried raspberry crumbs and passion fruit powder.

That's it! You are now ready to dig in and enjoy your refreshing cous cous salad.

This recipe has been developed entirely by Yuzu Bakes. Any resemblance with other recipes is purely coincidental.