Healthy and delicious? I swear! We had vegetarian friend for dinner recently, and one was a vegan. As I am on my big health kick (for probably like 5 more minutes), I was up to the challenge of cooking a vegan (or mostly!) dinner.

This couscous salad was one of the dishes I prepared. Where I would normally add some briny feta, I added tons of fresh herbs, shallot and vinegar to make sure that the salad has plenty of flavor.

While this is a vegan dish, it could also be served alongside a crispy, golden roast chicken or a piece of delicious fish.

Couscous Salad, serves 4-6
3 cups couscous, dried
4 cups water

½ cup shallot, minced
½ cup olive oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
2 red bell peppers, small diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 cup walnuts, chopped
½ cup flat leaf parsley, minced
1 handful basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine the water and the couscous with a little salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer and then put a lid on the pot and let sit with the heat off for about 510 minutes or until all of the water has been soaked up by the couscous.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the shallot, olive oil and red wine vinegar. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In a large bowl combine the couscous, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, walnuts, fresh herbs and the vinaigrette.

Toss gently and season to taste with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve at room temperature or chilled.