Spicy, summery pasta salad made with cucumber, lemon, mint, basil, and jalapeno. This is my interpretation of a spicy tabbouleh dish from 'Pasta & Co.'
Holy tingling tastebuds, this is crazy good! Instead of the customary potato/macaroni salad, I opted to make this as a side dish for bbq ribs. Left out the cilantro as I'm not a fan of its (soaplike) taste, but just chopped enough flat-leaf parsley to compensate. The real surprise, though, is the fresh jalapeno, especially when combined with the fiery cayenne and the smoky cumin. It's a trifecta of explosive flavor while the cuke, mint and lemon provide the cooling effects. This is now my go-to summer salad ~ thanks vburrito!
Read Moreboy! is this hott!!!(spicy) I only used half the cayenne and it still was terribly hot, so hot that you could not really appreciate the rest of the wonderful herbs. Next time I will skip the cayenne, use more cilantro and mint anduse the cumin.
Read MoreHoly tingling tastebuds, this is crazy good! Instead of the customary potato/macaroni salad, I opted to make this as a side dish for bbq ribs. Left out the cilantro as I'm not a fan of its (soaplike) taste, but just chopped enough flat-leaf parsley to compensate. The real surprise, though, is the fresh jalapeno, especially when combined with the fiery cayenne and the smoky cumin. It's a trifecta of explosive flavor while the cuke, mint and lemon provide the cooling effects. This is now my go-to summer salad ~ thanks vburrito!
This is my recipe. I recently tried this with quinoa & it was great (maybe even better than with couscous!)
I love spicy foods and this is a cool salad with a kick from the jalapenos! I added olive oil to the mix at the very end, liked how that rounded out the flavors and bound everything together.
Amazing! The only thing that I changed was the amount of cayenne pepper, I like it a little less spicy.
This was very good, with just the right amount of spice, although I felt maybe it lacked something, like salt, next time I might cook the couscous with chicken broth instead.
I made this recipe just as specified, and it was delicious! I love spicy food, and I didn't find the kick to take away from the flavor at all. It was perfect, and I'll make this again for sure.
boy! is this hott!!!(spicy) I only used half the cayenne and it still was terribly hot, so hot that you could not really appreciate the rest of the wonderful herbs. Next time I will skip the cayenne, use more cilantro and mint anduse the cumin.
This is a fabulous salad. Very flavorful and it keeps well in the fridge. I generally prepare a warm couscous with roasted chicken for dinner and then prepare this tasty salad the next day for lunches and snacks. Thanks for sharing.
i loved my first attempt at couscous. i halved the water and couscous to make for a very green couscous salad, and omitted the feta. served alongside broiled fish marinated in the extra lemon juice and garlic, and a classic gazpacho - perfect summery meal!
To say this had a kick is an understatement!!! I cut the cayenne in half (we do love spicy!!) and boy am I glad I did (left jalapeno as called for)! Loved the flavour the lemon juice imparts, and the cumin definitely gives a great taste! I did however leave out both the mint and cilantro - not fans of either, so I increased both the basil and parsley. Overall, really good - fresh and light, nice side dish for almost anything and a great vegetarian dish! Rounded off with a swirl of olive oil before serving!
Absolutely LOVE all the flavors in this dish. The fresh herbs and spiciness from the jalapeno really makes this dish so yummy. I enjoyed this with pearl couscous but next time I think I'll try it out with quinoa to make it more filling. Adjust the cayenne to your taste, this amount of heat isn't for everyone. Thanks for sharing!
Very good, my husband loved this, I thought it was pretty good. Made just as stated, but didn't have quite the right amount of feta, so just added what I had. We made this with blackened tilapia and it was a great healthy meal. Between the Cayenne and the jalapeño it is VERY spicy, but we liked spicy, so it worked for us.
YUM! I add garbanzo beans and call it a main dish. And I add extra cayenne. Very very good! Thanks!
Loved this recipe. I added kalmata olives & forgot the mint my first attempt, delish! My second try I'm using taboule in place of couscous.
I really like the flavour of this dish. I love spicy foods but I think next time I'll halve the cayenne. My mouth if on fire! tasty, tasty fire. :D
Made exactly as written. Kind of costly to buy all the herbs, but my family LOVED it so I'll make it again! Spicy for sure, so use caution on the cayenne and jalapeno if you don't like it that way. Thanks for sharing.
I didn't have couscous so I just used angel hair. It was good, but I'm not sure if I'll make it again.
Yum! So refreshing and a great way to use up herbs from an herb garden! I halved the recipe and served as a side dish to chicken and it could have easily fed 6 with big portions! Great and easy recipe!
It is a refreshing side dish or a main meal with your protein added. I placed this in my recipe box to make again. I did follow some of the reviews, I added approximately a 1/4 cup of olive oil, and increased the lemon juice to taste.
Enjoyed this, but quite spicy! Might cut back on the cayenne pepper next time.
Tastes just as great without the parsley. You can also add as much lemon as you like!
YUM. Our household of 3 young professionals loved the spice! I do like sweet and spicy though so my one tweek was adding a tablespoon of honey! I used Israel couscous same flavor, I think better texture. Thank you so much it's a keeper!
When I made this recipe I thought it tasted really really bad. I think if you add a dash of apple cider vinegar to the top before stirring it will be a better thing to eat. Also maybe some brown sugar on the cilantro just to mild out that flavor. Good Idea Though! I thought of something like that once with my good friend Betty.
Ooo girl! There’s a “kick” and then there’s 2tsp of cayenne lol. LOVED this and the flavors were incredible. Next time I will cut down the cayenne a bit, add some extra larger chunks of cucumber, stick with doubling the feta. Family added tomatoes and I added yogurt because at one point I literally said, “I’m want to cut my tongue off and throw it out the window.” So good though!!!
