To marinate the peppers you will need:
2 cups, plus 2 Tbs BD EVOO, divided
3 Bell peppers (red, yellow, and orange), cored, seeded and thinly sliced
1 tsp. BD Himalayan salt, divided
¼ cup BD casked 8 Balsamic vinegar
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 large cloves garlic, peeled, trimmed and finely sliced
1 tsp BD granulated sugar
¼ tsp BD ground black pepper
½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the peppers and ½ tsp salt, cook stirring often until the peppers are tender and have started to blacken on the edges, 8-10 minutes.
In a large wide mouth jar (32 oz mason jar works great) combine the vinegar, garlic, sugar and the remaining ½ tsp salt and the black pepper. Swirl this mixture in the jar to combine. Transfer the hot peppers to the jar and use tongs to turn them until they are fully coated in the vinegar mixture. Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes, turning once or twice. Chop the basil and add it along with the remaining ½ cup of olive oil. Stir the peppers well and the mixture stand at least 30 more minutes (even better, let the peppers marinate sit in the refrigerator overnight).
For the Salad:
1 ½ cups BD pearl couscous
1 cup dried BD Navy or Great Northern beans, rinsed and soak for 12 hours. Then cook for 40 minutes or until tender).
½ cup pitted Castelvetrano olives, thinly sliced
1 ½ tsp toasted BD fennel seeds
½ cup BD raisins
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil, more for garnish
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, more for garnish
BD Himalayan salt and BD ground pepper
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil, cook the couscous until just tender (about 8 minutes). Drain and rinse in cold water. Allow the couscous to dry completely. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Mix the pepper and vinegar mixture evenly. Pull out the peppers from the mixture along with the garlic and basil and add to the couscous bowl. Save the remaining oil-vinegar mixture.
Add the beans, olives, raisins and fennel seeds along with ¼ tsp salt. Toss gently to combine. Using the saved oil-vinegar mixture add 1 Tbsp at a time to the salad until the salad is dressed and flavorful. Transfer to a serving bowl and add the chopped fresh herbs.
Store up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Serves 6