Couscous tomato salad Tunisian-Israeli style by Yotam Ottolenghi

Summer is here, everyone is happy and finally the tomatoes taste like tomatoes again! Is that why everyone is happy?

This couscous and tomato salad from the wonderful cookbook "Genussvoll vegetarian" by the British-Israeli star chef Yotam Ottolenghi, which was published by Dorling Kindersley, will definitely make you happy and in a good mood. Of course, it's also healthy and light, it looks great in colors and it's quick to make. Another reason to be happy. So you have more time for other nice things...

As the name suggests, this recipe features couscous as the main ingredient alongside various types of tomatoes - here it's vine tomatoes, yellow cherry tomatoes, green tomatoes and wild tomatoes, but just pick the ones you like best. Our large-grain couscous M'hamsa from Tunisia goes perfectly with this recipe. Due to its large grains, it offers more resistance in the mouth and ensures a more interesting interplay of textures than conventional couscous. (Which of course does it in case of doubt...)

The author emphasizes in the book that the selection of tomatoes below is just a suggestion. So if you don't have that many different types on hand, just add up the amount and adjust for yourself.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

• 275g couscous
• Salt
• olive oil
• 300 g medium vine tomatoes, quartered
• 3/4 tsp raw cane sugar
• Black Pepper or Piment d'Espelette (for the color!)
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped oregano
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped tarragon
• 3 tablespoons roughly chopped mint
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 small green tomato, cut into wedges
• 100 g small wild tomatoes or halved red cherry tomatoes
• 150 g yellow cherry tomatoes, halved

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Cook the couscous in salted water until al dente, about 18 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Allow to dry completely and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil.

Meanwhile, spread the quartered vine tomatoes in half of a large ovenproof dish and sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and a little oil and put in the oven. After 20 minutes, remove from the oven and increase the temperature. Spread the yellow cherry tomatoes on the half of the oven dish that is still empty, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with oil.
Put the pan back in the oven and roast the tomatoes for another 12 minutes. Then remove the tomatoes and let them cool.
In a large bowl, gently mix the couscous with the herbs, garlic, baked tomatoes (including the juice), green tomatoes, and small wild tomatoes. Ottolenghi recommends doing this with your hands instead of salad servers.

Taste and season with salt, pepper and olive oil if necessary.
Freshly baked bread, for example, tastes good with it. And don't forget the wine!

Our tip: If you like, you can also cut the dried Mahjoub tomatoes into small pieces or strips and mix them into the salad. As a complement to the salad and as an accompaniment to fresh bread, we recommend the artichoke hearts, the garlic confit and the pickled, marinated peppers.

Our wine recommendation: The Contraste Rosé from the Douro goes particularly well with this summery salad. It is fresh, refreshing and lively. The color is intense and bright, in the mouth the wine is dense and complex with great elegance. The finish is medium-long and fruity. The bottle: €8.95 | the 6-pack for €48.00 (instead of €53.70).

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The recipe comes from this book: "Delicious vegetarian. Mediterranean - Oriental - Refined". Yotam Ottolenghi, photos J Lovekin. Dorling Kindersley Verlag (2011).

Important ingredients for the couscous tomato salad