Spring is here, which means summer is around the corner, thereby—bringing us all closer to bikini season. Yay, you say. I know—who doesn’t want to eat like a bird and work out like a maniac for a little natural nip-tuck. So to help you along, let me suggest this Cowboy Caviar Couscous Salad and the book Absolutely Avocados from Gaby Dalkin.
Yeah, you guessed it: book review.
Before I get ahead of myself, let’s talk about this salad. Luckily, I don’t need to say much, see the picture. It’s great for a fast and easy weeknight meal—just toss it all in one bowl. Or dress it up like I did, by using Treviso as the serving bowl—high five for versatility and ease of preparation.
And since no one wants to read a long book review, here are a few more reasons to stretch your credit-card-sliding wrist, better yet, keep your ass planted—Amazon link here.
Now, let’s go bullet style, shall we:
By the numbers:
- 80 recipes
- Average prep time per recipe: 20 minutes
- Approximate book cost: $17.99
What I liked and you probably will too:
- Easy recipes for every meal
- Did you know there are 100 varieties of avocados from around the world? I didn’t either, but don’t worry, the book contains a great chapter titled, Everything you need to know about avocados—now we can all be in the know.
- Read the headnotes—beyond talking about the dish, you’ll catches glimpses of Gaby and by the end you will want to welcome her into your kitchen. Her genuine personality shines through—trust me, I know her.
A few of my favorite recipes:
- Brownies (So obvious-I know.)
- Avocado-Coconut Ice Cream (Weird sounding, right? Uh, you won’t care once you take a bite, it’s kick ass in taste.)
- Chorizo Gravy Guacamole Loaded Nachos (Grab a beer and a bib—messy and insane!)
- Open-Faced Avocado Croque Monsieur (A simple but fantastic tweak to a classic.)
- Margarita Marinated Pork Kebabs with Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa (See how the title alone makes you hungry.)
There you have it. Go fill your Amazon cart!
Cowboy Caviar Couscous Salad
Ingredients
- INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup couscous
- 1 cup chicken stok
- 2 Haas avocado
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 cup cooked and rinsed black eyed peas
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels
- 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup store bought salsa
- 1/4 thinly sliced scallions
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place couscous in a saucepan with chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until all liquid has evaporated, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer the cooked couscous to a large bowl and let cool.
- Cut each avocado in half lengthwise. Remove the pit from the avocado and discard. Remove the avocado from the skin, and dice the avocado into 1/2-inch pieces. Transfer to the bowl of couscous.
- Dice the red bell pepper into 1/2-inch pieces, similar to that of the avocado. Add the red bell pepper to the couscous, along with the black-eye peas, corn, red onion, cherry tomatoes, salsa, scallions and cilantro. Toss everything together to combine. Zest and juice the lime into the salad and add the red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasoning as needed and serve immediately.
Most gorgeous salad ever! I’ve never had couscous before but I’m sure that will change very very soon!
Damn girl, you even know how to make endive look sexy. A little avocado doesn’t hurt much either.
Stunning, Naomi! And I know you rarely do reviews (if ever!) so this was a special one! Thanks for sharing this gorg salad from Gaby’s book!
it looks great!I will prepare soon:)
Greetings from Germany
So stunning! I am always in awe when I vist you site!! Basically diddo everything Heidi said!
Naomi: I love the simplicity and freshness of this delicious and vivid dish! A fork for me, please!!!
Love Gaby’s book! Gorgeous display here!
Beautiful salad, Naomi! Love the couscous!
Such a wonderful styling for plate dish., It almost looks like bunch of flowers
Naomi!!! Your photography is so stunning. I need lessons girl. I’m coming over 🙂 xoxo ….love Gaby’s salad!
Most creative and stunning salad ever! Love!
I’ve been obsessed with this salad ever since I saw your IG – love the styling in the Treviso “spoons.”
I need to get her book! I love avocado and I would love to know more recipes using it. This is such a gorgeous salad, perfect for a summer bbq party!
wowza!! gorgeous pictures Naomi. This makes me want to dive in 🙂
Stunning. Now I’m ready for lunch. I just love Gaby’s book, too. =)
This salad is so colorful and beautiful! And, of course, I could eat Israeli couscous as the drop of a hat. 🙂 Love it!
what a gorgeous salad!! i love her book so much!!
Love love love! This will be next on my list of things to make from the book.
Gorgeous Salad!!
I have been thinking to buy Gaby’s book… Now you have convinced me to get my copy fast!
Really beautiful styling… I know you must be tired of listening this by now… 🙂
Beautiful as always and that endive presentation is brilliant. That book is next on my list..
I love how colorful this is! Beautiful photos (as always!!)!
Gorgeous!!! Love all of the colorful freshness in there too!
Looks delicious! I love pearl couscous 🙂
What a tasty salad and I love the presentation!
Such pretty bites & I love Gaby’s book!
Stunning!
Maybe eating like a bird for bikini season (really not something I can do, but I do try… for about a day) would be good if all the recipes were like this one. 😉
Do you think you should mention you used Israeli cous cous?… I’m sure someone will boil the shit out of a normal cous cous and end up with a porridge like consistency. I love your presentation with this salad. Stunning! Cheers Kirsty 😉
you are the best 🙂 Thanks girl!
Lovely presentation 🙂
Love a good cowboy caviar! Perfect for a hot summer day and even better for 4th of July. Your pictures look lovely as usual. Thanks for sharing!
Naomi,
Please forgive me but I can’t find how to contact you to ask a question so I’m using your comment section.
I have a picture of a polka-dot cake roll that has your name listed as the creator. I can’t find it anywhere on your blog and am hoping you might guide me to where I can find information on how to make this gorgeous cake roll. Thanking you in advance and oh so looking forward to getting a real bite of this beautiful roll.
Absolutely stunning, Naomi! Admire your photography…just gorgeous, here! So summery…so colorful…so inviting. And, I really dig the way you do cookbook reviews. I just may adopt your super brief and to the point format readers appreciate. Just clicked Gaby’s cookbook in my Amazon cart based on your review. Thanks muches, girl! xo
Gorgeous presentation Naomi!! I bought Gabi’s book and I am in love with it – every recipe looks amazing. I am all over making the avocado coconut ice cream, and then I think I will make the brownies next.
What a beautiful salad!I love the addition of the couscous.
Although most black eye injuries aren’t serious, bleeding within the eye, called a hyphema, is serious and can reduce vision and damage the cornea. In some cases, abnormally high pressure inside the eyeball (ocular hypertension) also can result.’,’..
With best thoughts
<http://picturesofherpes.co/index.php/
Love cowboy caviar, and the addition of couscous to make a meal of it is inspired. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the cookbook and the marvelous-looking, simple recipe!
Super yum. This is going to be my go to salad this summer.