Couscous Salad and Chardonnay

For the Mother's Day Celebration, I made a couscous salad that I adapted from a recipe on the back of a box of Near East Couscous. Here is my version - it's light, flavorful, and would make a great light lunch heaped on a bed of lettuce with a glass of that CK Mondavi Chardonnay on the side.

Couscous Salad

1 box of Near East couscous
2 large tomatoes - chopped
1 medium zucchini - halved and sliced thinly
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced
1/4 tsp black pepper
Juice of 1 large lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup oil cured pitted olives - halved

Prepare the couscous according to the box, but leave out oil and salt, and add black pepper to the cooking water. When couscous is done, fluff with fork and pour into a large bowl. Add olive oil and lemon juice and mix. Allow to cool to room temperature. Mix in zucchini, green onions, basil, tomatoes and olives. Toss well, cover, and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Note - if you substitute cucumber for zucchini, and parsley for basil, and add a little extra lemon juice you will have a variation that is very much like the middle eastern salad tabboulli. Good stuff!