Who's Cous? My Cous!

All weekend long I wondered what I would make for dinner that will make it through to lunch on Monday. I read, and read, and surfed the food sites and paced the kitchen and grumbled and mumbled all the way.
Saturday morning I caught an episode of Giada at Home on Cooking Channel TV and she was making a couscous salad with smoked paprika vinaigrette, and I was still uncertain. I did not have anything she put in this salad except for the olive oil, smoked paprika, and a box of couscous. Determined, I went into my fridge and pulled out everything I thought could go into this couscous salad.
Out came, scallions, roma tomatoes, cucumbers,a block of iberico cheese and I even pulled a box of raisins out of the cupboard. I threw everything on the counter and started dicing, still determined to make something. And this is what I came up with, Couscous a la Hispaniola, topped with a piece of Roasted chicken paprika. I paired that with a nice glass of Caribbean style lemonade, to keep my palate fresh, hope you like it!

Couscous a La Hispaniola

Ingredients:
1 Box of Israeli Couscous
2 Large Roma Tomatoes, diced
1/2 Hot house cucumber, diced
3 scallions, sliced on diagonal
2 tbsp raisins, rough chopped
3oz Iberico cheese, diced

Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup extra-virgen olive oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette and set aside
2. Cook a box of Israeli Couscous according to instructions, set aside to cool slightly.
3. Add the vegetables, cheese, and raisins to a large bowl. Add couscous while still slightly warm, pour vinaigrette and toss lightly.