Cucumber and Feta Couscous

Couscous is a staple for a campfire cook. I have to admit that normally I’m a much bigger fan of the Israeli variety, and as such the tiny-grained regular couscous rarely makes an appearance in our kitchen at home; but when we’re camping, it becomes an essential ingredient. There are a number of good reasons for this. First, it requires little prep work and it’s fast. Boil water, dump in couscous, cover and remove from heat, wait a few minutes. That right there is exactly the kind of recipe you want to be cooking over a fire. It’s really hard to screw up. Second, it takes on the flavors of whatever you mix it with, making the grain component of your meal that much tastier. Third, if whatever you’re making seems horribly runny, you can throw in some couscous to thicken it up and add texture. This results in many happy accidents, which is exactly what happened with our Mission Hill salmon and asparagus. Finally, it’s great for dinners, but it can just as easily be used in breakfasts and lunches as well. When packing is an issue (and lets face it, even when you’re car camping you still face limitations on exactly how much food you can bring), having a multi-use food item such as couscous can be a lifesaver. Incidentally, though, if space, time, and ease is not an issue for you, I would still recommend Israeli couscous - it’s just that awesome.

Couscous salad is great for a sit-down camp lunch (I wouldn’t recommend it so much for a picnic or lunch on the trail: it’s best eaten fresh and it’s messy - especially for kids). The recipe below adapted from The Camping Cookbook, by Annie Bell.

Cucumber and Feta Couscous

Tools you need:

-pot or kettle 

-bowl 

-cutting board

-knife 

-cup or mug

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 cups or mugs of water

-1 cup or mug of couscous

-extra virgin olive oil

-sea salt

-cucumber, however much you want and sliced however you like (Annie recommends 1/2 a cucumber, quartered and thinly sliced. If you have other plans for the cucumber, such as in sandwiches or as a snack later or whatever, then that’s great. If you don’t, either plan to bring only 1/2 a cucumber on your trip, or else just throw the whole thing in)

-handful of cherry tomatoes or one medium sized tomato, chopped

-a few small fresh mint leaves, torn 

-1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely (I use one of these to chop it)

-juice of 1/4 to 1/2 lemon, whatever your preference (if you’re not using the rest of the lemon in meals, it’s great to add to your drinking water before you go out hiking or exploring)

-a couple handfuls of olives (Annie recommends pitted green olives, which are great, but black olives work well, too. I find one of those small cans of chopped black olives is just about the perfect amount)

-feta cheese, coarsely crumbled (how much is up to you, but as with the cucumber: if you don’t have other plans for the cheese, then only pack as much as you’re going to use)

Directions:

1. Start water boiling
2. Mix couscous with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and a pinch of salt
3. Pour boiling water into couscous. Mix and set aside.
4. Prepare cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, mint, and olives.
5. Once couscous has cooled, mix in the ingredients from step 4, along with the lemon juice and feta.
6. Drizzle on some more olive oil and serve.

***If you haven’t done so already, I’d recommend taking a look at my camp-cooking hints and suggestions page so that you don’t have to make all the same mistakes I did when I started campfire cooking.