Simply Israeli Couscous with Vegetables

I love couscous! I use it often, as part of the main dish or as a side dish.   Couscous is actually a type of wheat pasta made with semolina flour (so  isn’t a good grain choice for you gluten free folks) and is a good alternative to the sometimes boring pasta and rice.  There are typically two different types of couscous we commonly see, Moroccan couscous which is the small grain, quick cooking kind and Israeli couscous which is the round peppercorn shaped, slower cooking variety.  I am using Israeli couscous here, because the kids like the texture (less messy too) and I think it lends itself to a main dish better than the small grained variety because of texture.

When I made this, I purposefully made it very, very simple with limited spices (but it’s still delicious).  I want you to start spreading your wings as a home chef,  to experiment with tweaking recipes and making them your own.  I know you can do it, and this will get you one step closer to feeling comfortable in the kitchen (the next step will be conquering the world, but that’s for a later post 😉 )  This dish makes a great side, but works beautifully as a main dish when you add a few things to bulk up the protein and fat content to make it more substantial. Try adding a can of garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas), feta cheese and some olives for a Mediterranean twist.  For a Mexican fiesta , you could add some black beans, diced jalapenos, a squeeze of lime and a dash of cumin.  You can really add anything to this to make it your own 🙂 If you jazz it up, please share it with me…I LOVE a good taste adventure!

And off we go!!

First start with a plethora of diced and minced vegetables…I am using my favorite quadrad of  sweet bell peppers, squash, onions and garlic.  Then I added fresh cherry tomatoes (from my garden, which I think it pretty cool that we actually got a fairly good “crop” this year) to bring the freshness factor into high gear!

And you mix things up, I used Avocado oil for this about 2 Tbsp, but you can use EVOO or any other oil you like.

Add all the squash, peppers, onions and garlic to your pot and season with a good pinch of coarse Sea Salt.

Add ~2cups of Couscous. Toss with the vegetables and oil and toast slightly for about 5 minutes before adding the liquid.  I made a pretty big dish of this because I LOVE having it for  lunch a couple times during the next few days.  This reheats so well, and I can add whatever strikes my fancy that day.  This can also be eaten chilled, if brought in a cool lunch bag/box.  It can be a little sticky when right out of the fridge, but once it sits in a cool lunch bag it stops being so stiff and taking itself so seriously and just relaxes. 😉

Add about 3 cups of liquid to this.  I used 2 cups of chicken stock and 1 cup of water.  You can use vegetable stock or all water (this will make it kinda bland) to make a vegetarian or vegan meal.  I also add the tomatoes here to allow them to cook a little with the broth, but not over-cook with the other veggies.  Allow this to lightly simmer uncovered for about 10-15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is al dente.

Look how delicious this looks! Bellissimo!

And like I said, this is delicious as is, but its pretty basic, so you can jazz it up if you want with your favorite additions…I know it will be delish!  Please let me know what you do to make it your own!