Radish Couscous

Makes 4 starter portions

• 1 cup pearl (Israeli) couscous
• 2 cups vegetable stock (homemade if you have it)
• 1/2 a ripe avocado
• the juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 5 tablespoons walnut or olive oil
• sea salt, black pepper
• 1/2 cup edamame
• 1 small bunch radishes (you can mix salad turnips in as well)
  
• 1 kirby cucumber
• 1 small serrano chili
• 3 scallions
• 2 handfuls arugula and/or radish greens

1. If you can make the cous cous a little ahead, great, because you don't want it to be super hot when you toss it with the salad. (Otherwise, do what I did and throw it into the fridge for 20 minutes.) I like to cook the couscous with stock, instead of water. Add a little salt and pepper.
2. Make the dressing: Spoon the avocado into a small bowl. Using a fork, give it a good smooshing, until the avocado is mashed. Add the lemon juice, and a little salt and pepper. Pour the oil in a thin stream, whisking as you go, until the dressing is creamy. Taste to make sure the salt and pepper ratio is working.
3. Wash and cut the ends off the radishes. For this salad, I like to cut the radishes into kind of chunky pieces, so you really taste it when you take a bite. Wash the cucumber, and cut it similarly.
4. The chili and the scallions should be cut more thinly than the radish and cucumber. Wash the chili and cut it in half lengthwise. De-seed it, and then cut each half crosswise. Wash the scallions, and cut the white parts crosswise.
5. Toss the couscous, the edamame, the radishes, the cucumber, the chili, the scallions and the greens together in a large bowl. Add the dressing, and toss until everything is evenly coated.

Adapted from Food52