Couscous Salad with Gouda & Fresh Cherries

Ditch your traditional pasta salad recipe and switch things up for once with this colorful, fresh, and flavorful couscous salad. This unique pearl or Israeli couscous side dish uses fresh cherries, cubed gouda, canned chickpeas, and a fresh basil vinaigrette to add lots of bold and bright flavors.

This is a summer couscous salad I was truly excited to make, especially since my fondness for sour cherries has gotten a wee smidge out of hand lately; starting with this recipe for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Sour Cherries. Unfortunately, unlike the ice cream, this salad proved to be quite a wily thing and took great joy in forcing me to suffer through several varying recipe experiments before getting the recipe just where I wanted it to be.

You see, not all recipes work out perfectly the first time. Or at times, even the second or the third. My first major realization was that when it comes to fresh basil in a pasta salad, more is more, and less is less. Basically, when it comes to fresh basil, don’t be afraid to measure with your heart.

My second major discovery was that when you use sour cherries instead of sweet cherries, you’re going to need a lot more seasoning to balance out the flavors. Thankfully, salt and pepper worked wonders to solve this wee problem.

And last, but certainly not least, on the third try at this recipe, I mistakenly ended up switching out one ingredient for another. I served it with fresh summer corn on the side and discovered that the corn was a pretty great replacement for the chickpeas when it accidentally mingled in with the pasta. Quite a happy surprise and one that I certainly wasn’t expecting.

So, whether or not you use chickpeas or corn, I’ll leave that up to you. Either one is absolutely delicious. Just don’t forget to add salt and pepper to taste, lots of fresh basil, and enough cherries and gouda cheese to balance everything out. I’ve done a lot of the dirty work for you already. So, if all goes well for you, this recipe should be practically foolproof the first go around.

Ingredients:

Couscous:

2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup Pearl or Israeli Couscous
2 Cups Cold Water

Salad:

1 Cup Very Finely Chopped Fresh Basil
1/4 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
2 Teaspoons Light Brown Sugar, Packed
1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Sea Salt
1 (16-oz.) Can of Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans, Drained & Rinsed
2 Cups Fresh Cherries, Pitted
4 Scallions, Chopped (Green Parts Only)
2 Cups Cubed Gouda Cheese

Directions:

Couscous:

Place the olive oil and couscous in a medium saucepot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes or until toasted.
Add the water and bring the couscous to a boil.
When the water is boiling, Cover the saucepot with a lid, turn the heat down to medium-low, and then cook the couscous for 12 to 14 minutes, or until all of the water has cooked out and the couscous is cooked through.
Take the lid off and allow the couscous to cool for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to release steam.

Salad:

In a large bowl, whisk together the basil, olive oil, white wine vinegar, brown sugar, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt.
When the couscous has cooled, add it to the vinaigrette, along with the chickpeas or garbanzo beans, pitted cherries, and scallions. Stir gently to combine.
Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Add the gouda and stir gently to combine. Add more salt or pepper if needed.

Suggestions:

After rinsing and draining the garbanzo beans or chickpeas, you can remove and throw away the outer skin from each one by rubbing it between your thumb and index finger. You can skip this step if you don’t mind the outer skin.
2 cups of cubed gouda should weigh approximately 6 ounces. You don’t have to be exact. Around here, we measure cheese with our hearts.
I used sour cherries for this recipe, however, you can also use black, rainier, or bing cherries for this recipe.
Don’t have white wine vinegar? Replace it with apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar.
You may need to add more salt or pepper to this salad. Taste it before serving.
I let this couscous salad chill before adding the gouda to ensure that it doesn’t melt. If you prefer to serve this salad right away at room temperature, just make sure that it is cool enough not to melt the cheese.

Improvements:

Replace the chickpeas or garbanzo beans in this recipe with fresh summer corn cut off of the cob. Two to three ears of corn should be sufficient.
In lieu of fresh cherries, add diced fresh peaches to this salad.
For added crunch, top the salad with sliced almonds or sunflower seeds just before serving.
If you’re a fan of couscous and fresh basil, make sure to check out this Pearl Couscous & Chickpea Salad with Basil.

Yum

Couscous Salad with Gouda & Fresh Cherries

Ingredients:

Couscous:

2 Tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
1 Cup Pearl or Israeli Couscous
2 Cups Cold Water

Salad:

1 Cup Very Finely Chopped Fresh Basil
1/4 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
2 Teaspoons Light Brown Sugar, Packed
1 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Sea Salt
1 (16-oz.) Can of Chickpeas or Garbanzo Beans, Drained & Rinsed
2 Cups Fresh Cherries, Pitted
4 Scallions, Chopped (Green Parts Only)
2 Cups Cubed Gouda Cheese

Directions:

Couscous:

Place the olive oil and couscous in a medium saucepot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes or until toasted.
Add the water and bring the couscous to a boil.
When the water is boiling, Cover the saucepot with a lid, turn the heat down to medium-low, and then cook the couscous for 12 to 14 minutes, or until all of the water has cooked out and the couscous is cooked through.
Take the lid off and allow the couscous to cool for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to release steam.

Salad:

In a large bowl, whisk together the basil, olive oil, white wine vinegar, brown sugar, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt.
When the couscous has cooled, add it to the vinaigrette, along with the chickpeas or garbanzo beans, pitted cherries, and scallions. Stir gently to combine.
Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Add the gouda and stir gently to combine. Add more salt or pepper if needed.

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