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Barbecue Hit: Giada's Mediterranean Salad

Published on August 29, 2009 By Emily. Updated on August 29, 2009

I spent too much of yesterday agonizing over a barbecue.  It was my church’s women’s fellowship barbecue and, being new to the area and all, I really wanted to go.  Attendees were supposed to bring their own meat to grill and something to share.  First issue: I thought it was pretty silly to go to the store to buy meat and, more than likely, a roll, for a single person.  I don’t have hamburgers (or turkey burgers, or veggie burgers, or hot dogs) in my freezer waiting for occasions like this.  Nor do I want to.  So I agonized over whether to go to the store so I would have something for the grill.  Second issue: Then I debated over what to get-should I get meat? Veggie burgers? Vegetables to grill?  When possible, I don’t like to introduce myself as “Emily the not-quite-but-almost-vegetarian”.  If the conversation gets there then fine, but it’s not the point of my existence.  So, really the whole debate was about what first impression I wanted to make.

In the end, I brought nothing but Mediterranean Salad (and I am getting to the part with the recipe).  I hoped that no one would notice that I hadn’t brought anything for the grill.  Know what?  No one did.  There were so many pasta salads and bean salads and fruit salads and Mexican dips that no one noticed that my full plate didn’t have anything from the grill or any meat.  I had a really good time spending the evening conversing about things other than my eating habits.

What to bring to share was much easier for me to figure out.  I knew right away what I wanted to make.  Last year, before I was really into cooking, I saw Giada De Laurentiis make this Mediterranean Salad on Everyday Italian.  It was a big hit at last night’s get together.

mediterrean salad

The dish contains Israeli/Mediterranean couscous, which I’ve found at food co-ops and Whole Foods  It’s a small pasta, different from “normal” couscous.  The recipe says any small pasta will work, but I’ve been so happy with the couscous that I’ve never tried it.  Add in some broth,* garlic, lemon juice and zest, fresh mint, fresh basil and dried cranberries and it’s a delicious side salad (or meal, if I have my way).  Check it out.

*Switch out the chicken broth for vegetable broth and this dish is vegetarian.

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Filed Under: life, recipe Tagged With: Food Network, pasta, recipe review, vegetarian

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Comments

  1. Healthy Dieter says

    May 16, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    This looks sincerely wonderful. I love the Mediterranean flavors and especially like salads that get a little bit interesting. My own personal favorite lately is this recipe I came up with for a southwest salmon salad. I hesitate to call it a recipe since it is so easy and quick to make but man is it delicious. It’s actually featured on my website right now…here’s the link: southwest salmon salad

Trackbacks

  1. Relishments » The Fewer Dishes to Wash, the Better says:
    April 18, 2010 at 5:05 pm

    […] been sitting in our pantry forever.  I decided to attempt a cheaper, less fresh, version of Giada’s Mediterrean Salad, which is still one of my favorite things.  I prepared a dressing of lemon juice, dried basil, […]

  2. On Potlucks and Signature Dishes » Relishments says:
    June 18, 2013 at 8:04 pm

    […] to know immediately what I’m bringing to shared dish events.  For a while, I was bringing Mediterranean pasta salad to everything, but now I’m sort of over it.  I want my signature dish to be something I’m […]

  3. #74: Go to a Performance at Tanglewood » Relishments says:
    July 7, 2013 at 5:47 pm

    […] our space and set up our meal.  Everyone brought different dishes to share (I contributed Giada’s Mediterranean Salad and brownies) and everything was really delicious.    Despite it being hot earlier […]

  4. Always Have a Backup (CSA Menu Plan #78) | Relishments says:
    July 25, 2017 at 3:12 pm

    […] Women’s Fellowship cookout – I’m bringing this pasta salad and veggies to […]

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New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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