This makes a great vegetarian side dish or main dish. I love Israeli couscous or sometimes called peal couscous; it’s much more substantial and has more of a “bite” or tension to it unlike the other kind of plain couscous that is much smaller. Couscous can be prepared in so many ways, as a hot dish or a salad, this is a hot side dish but leftovers can certainly be eaten cold right out of the fridge I’m sure. Serve this along a beautiful piece of fish or chicken for a light supper or enjoy it as a main dish with a salad; it’s really good sprinkled with parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
1 cup of Israeli or pearl couscous
1 1/2 cups of water or vegetable broth
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
¼ teaspoon pepper flakes (optional)
½ cup of white wine or vegetable broth
1 pint of assorted colored cherry tomatoes, halved
1 yellow or red bell pepper, chopped
4 cups of fresh spinach, chopped
1 cup of fresh corn
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Bring water and pinch of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan, add couscous, reduce heat to simmer and cover, cook for about 10 minutes or until water is absorbed, remove from heat and fluff with fork, set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the garlic and shallots until translucent, about 4 minutes, add the pepper flakes and wine.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, spinach, corn, salt and pepper and cover and let the spinach cook down for about 5 minutes, uncover and stir.
- Add the cooked couscous, breaking it up a bit, it may have lumped together as it cooled, add the fresh chopped basil and lemon juice and cook until heated through, about 4 more minutes and serve right away. Serves 4 to 6
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