Israeli Couscous And Tomato Salad With Arugula Pesto

I absolutely love arugula and arugula pesto, so I figured this will be great for me.  The husband is not a fan of tomatoes, so I made this on a night he wouldn't be dining with us.  My big surprise, the boy LOVED it.  He had two helpings and was done before myself or the girl.  (this is the boy who thinks nothing of taking 2 HOURS to finish a meal!)  It was very good!  Only thing I would have liked to changed were the cherry tomatoes.  The skins were too thick and made for some unpleasant textures in your mouth.  I would like to try it with oven roasted tomatoes instead or all chopped tomatoes in red, yellow and orange. The pesto was very nice and will be great on many things.  I think I drizzled a little too much oil on the couscous to prevent clumping.  It was a tad oily and I think that diluted the flavors a bit.  Still really excellent, but something to watch when preparing it.  It is completely vegetarian; in fact without the parm in the pesto, it is vegan.  I know the pasta made it a bit heavy, but a great hot summer night dish.  I think it will keep well too.  It is going to be my lunch tomorrow too:)



Israeli Couscous And Tomato Salad With Arugula PestoYield: 4 Servings

      6 c  packed arugula (6 ounces) plus whole leaves for garnish
      2 c  Israeli couscous (12 ounces)
    1/2 c  extra-virgin olive oil,plus more for drizzling
    1/4 c  pine nuts
      4    garlic cloves,chopped
    1/4 c  freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
           Salt and freshly ground pepper
  1 1/2 pt red cherry tomatoes,halved
      4    yellow or orange tomatoes cut into 1-inch dice
1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the 6 cups
of arugula and blanch for 10 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer
the arugula to a colander. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking,
then drain.
2. Add the couscous to the boiling water and cook over moderately high
heat, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain
the couscous and spread it out on a large baking sheet. Drizzle lightly
with olive oil and toss to prevent clumping. Let the couscous cool to
room temperature.
3. In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderate heat, tossing,
until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Let cool.
4. Squeeze the excess water from the arugula and coarsely chop it.
Transfer the arugula to a food processor. Add the pine nuts, garlic,
cheese and the 1/2 cup of olive oil and process until the pine nuts are
finely chopped. Season the pesto with salt and pepper.
5. Transfer the couscous to a large serving bowl and stir in the pesto.
Gently fold in the tomatoes. Garnish with the arugula leaves and serve.

Make Ahead The salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.