Mediterranean Chopped [Couscous] Salad

I found the recipe on Pinterest (of course) and tried it last night and it was a hit! Here you go...

Ingredients for the dressing:

• ¼ cup olive oil 
• 2 teaspoons honey 
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
• zest of 1 lemon 
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 1 medium clove garlic, finely minced 

(If you don't want to make this dressing a simple non-balsamic vinaigrette would work just as well)

Ingredients for the salad: 

• 1 cup Israeli Couscous - I used 1 box of Near East pearled couscous, prepared as directed on the box 
• 1 tablespoon salt, this seems like a lot, but very little will actually be absorbed into the pasta. Add it now to season the pasta as it cooks, giving deeper flavor. 
• 2 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered - I didn't measure this out but used 1.5 handfuls of the cherry tomatoes
• 1 large seedless cucumber (usually plastic-wrapped; about 1 pound), diced 
• 1 medium red onion, diced 
• ½ cup Kalamata olives, quartered 
• ¾ cup Feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped 
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, finely chopped*
• 1 ½ tablespoons fresh oregano or parsley, finely chopped*
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, don't worry about chopping these*
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

*A note about all the herbs: Aside from the rosemary (which I am growing in the backyard) I didn't have any of these herbs in the house and wasn't about to go out to buy them so I skipped these and the salad tasted just fine :)

Instructions:

1. For the dressing, combine all dressing ingredients in a glass jar and shake well to combine. Set aside. 
2. Bring water to boil in a medium-size pot. Add couscous and salt. Return to a boil. Reduce to a steady simmer and cook for 8-9 minutes or until al dente. Drain well and rinse with cool water. Or cook to box specs ;)  Transfer to a medium size bowl. 
3. Add tomatoes, cucumber and red onion to the bowl with the couscous and stir to combine. Drizzle about half of the dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Add the olives, Feta, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. Stir gently. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for several days. I refrigerated mine for a couple hours. Remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving to bring to room temperature.