I first made this salad for Jason on our third or fourth date.
It was part of a greater menu that I could not remember for the life of me, but I happen to remember this salad for one very specific reason.
Right before I was ready to put it on the table, I decided to give it another dash of freshly ground black pepper. What I didn’t anticipate was that that the top of the pepper grinder, which I had just filled, wasn’t actually attached to the bottom part. So when I gave the grinder a twist, I instead opened it and about 300 peppercorns spilled out, directly onto the salad.
I believe I gasped in horror. Jason, trying to be nice, insisted that the salad was salvageable, and together, we spent 20 minutes picking out peppercorns amidst gooey goat cheese and avocados. While we probably cleared 80% of them, we also had to be extremely careful eating the salad as every fifth bite or so contained a peppery surprise.
This was so unpleasant, yet totally memorable, and funny to this day. I honestly don’t think I’ve made the salad since. Until this week, that is, and needless to say we had a good laugh about it.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup water
- ¾ cup red couscous, dry
- ¼ cup pesto
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 avocado, sliced thin
- 2-3 ounces goat cheese
- handful of pine nuts
- salt and pepper to taste
- In a small pot, bring olive oil and water to a boil. Remove from heat, stir in couscous and cover. After about 5 minutes, remove cover and fluff with a fork. Let cool completely.
- Once couscous is cool, combine pesto and lemon juice in a small bowl. Mix together with couscous. Stir in avocado, goat cheese, and pine nuts. Season with salt and pepper.
LOVELY- A must try!
writes MaryLet me know how it turns out!
writes Vicky3illiteracy
writes 2theaters