Couscous confetti salad

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 250 g couscous, large Israeli
• 2 bell peppers, red, yellow, or orange
• 1 handful of apricot(s), dried
• 1 handful of raisins
• 1 handful of tomatoes, dried, marinated in oil
• 1 handful of cranberries
• ¼ bunch coriander, or Thai basil, or parsley
• 2 spring onions
• 2 handfuls of almond(s), chopped
• 1 bag of arugula
• 1 dashes lemon juice, or lime juice
• 1 pinch(s) of pepper
• 2 handfuls of sugar
• 100 ml vinegar (fruit)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp mustard, hot
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 75 ml olive oil, or oil from the pickled tomatoes

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 10 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Cook the couscous in salted water. In the meantime, dice the bell peppers. Chop the apricots, raisins, tomatoes, and cranberries into small pieces. Finely chop the cilantro. Slice the spring onions. Mix everything with the cooked, still-hot couscous. Add the arugula. The raw ingredients should be slightly warmed and softened by the hot couscous. For the sauce, mix the lemon juice, pepper, salt, sugar, vinegar, mustard, onion powder, poppy seeds, and oil with a hand blender or in a blender until thickened. Mix the sauce with the couscous. Serve warm or cold. This salad is also a great way to use up leftovers. You can add or omit many ingredients, depending on your taste, such as a little cayenne pepper or fresh tomatoes instead of dried tomatoes—just make sure you use the large Israeli couscous.