Vegetable Couscous

-

1 c. Israeli couscous
1 c. Chicken stock, low sodium
1 c. Water
4 c. Vegetables, chopped
1 clove Garlic, chopped

1 tsp Basil, dried
2 tbsp Olive oil
Sesame oil
Salt & Pepper to taste


Rinse the couscous with water.

Bring the chicken stock and water to a boil in a sauce pan. Stir in the couscous. Reduce to low heat and simmer for about 10 min, covered.

When the couscous are soft, fluff with a fork. You may drain the excess liquid with a strainer.

Prepare approximately 4 cups of vegetables, chopped the way you like. I used mushrooms, asparagus, green onion, white onion and sweet peppers.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add garlic and white onions and cook for about 1 minute until fragrant.

Stir in the basil and the rest of the vegetables (except for the green onion) and cook until they begin to soften. (Cooking time depends on whether you like your veggies soft or crunchy.)

If you are using green onion, add them to the rest of the vegetables and cook for a few more minutes.

Stir in the cooked couscous and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle a little bit of sesame oil before serving.


My comments:

I fell in love with Israeli couscous the first time I had it as a side dish at a fancy local restaurant. It was prepared with veal juice and oh boy, I'm drooling just thinking about it. I don't have any veal juice at home but I did have tons of vegetables that were going to go bad if I didn't do something about it. So I whipped up this simple vegetable couscous recipe and it was delicious, not to mention very healthy.

Israeli couscous actually tastes more like a pasta than the regular couscous. The package instruction said to "fluff" with a fork once the liquid is absorbed but it doesn't really "fluff". I found it helps to have a bit of oil (olive or sesame) to keep the couscous from sticking together too much. One important thing to remember when preparing couscous (regular or Israeli) is to use low sodium chicken stock. Once the stock is reduced and absorbed, the salt concentration increases and you end up with a very salty dish. So it is wise to start with a low sodium stock and add more salt as needed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Crunchy Oat Fudge Bars

-
Image
Adapted from First Look, Then Cook . Crust and topping 1 c. Rolled oats 1/4 c. Flax seeds 2/3 c. Brown sugar, unpacked 3/4 c. Whole wheat flour (or all-purpose) 1/4 tsp Baking powder 1/4 tsp Baking soda 1/8 tsp Salt 1/4 c. Unsalted butter, melted Filling 1/4 c. All-purpose flour 1/4 tsp Salt 1.5 c. Semi-sweet chocolate chips 2 tbsp Unsalted butter 1 Large egg, beaten 1 tsp Vanilla 2 tsp Instant coffee (optional) Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8" square pan or use a silicone square pan. Combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, flax seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Stir in melted butter.  Set aside 3/4 cup of the mixture for the topping. Press the remaining oat mixture onto the bottom of the square baking pan.  Bake for 8 min, until the crust is golden brown. Set the crust aside to cool while you prepare the fudge filling. Melt chocolate chips with the butter in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.  Allow the chocolate mixture to cool fo
Read more

Thai Curry Stir-Fried Rice

-
Image
3 c. Cooked rice* 2-3 tbsp Vegetable oil 1 Green onions, chopped 2-3 cloves Garlic, minced 3 Eggs 1/2 Fresh pineapple, cut into small chunks 3/4 c. Vegetables** 1 tbsp Sesame oil 2 tbsp Soya sauce 2 tsp Curry powder 1-2 tsp Thai curry paste * Freshly cooked rice has too much moisture and it is too soggy to fry; therefore, it is best to use leftover rice. If you don't have leftover rice, you can cool freshly cooked rice to room temperature and then place the rice in the refrigerator, uncovered, for a minimum of 1 hour to reduce the moisture. ** You can use any vegetables you like. I used frozen vegetable mix because it was the easiest thing to do and I thaw the vegetables to room temperature. Alternatively, you can chop up fresh vegetables into small pieces (eg. carrots, mushrooms, peppers, etc.), pre-cook them on the frying pan and drain the excess liquid. Drizzle 1 tbsp of oil to the rice and break up the rice into grains with a fork. Set aside. Stir together the soya sauce,
Read more

Chinese Beef Congee

-
Image
1 c. Chinese white rice 6 c. Water 1/2 lb. Lean ground beef 1 Salted duck egg Salt & pepper to taste Lettuce, thinly sliced Sauce: 2 Green onion, chopped 3 tbsp Soya sauce (Kikkoman) 1/2 tsp Sesame oil Wash the rice several times with water. Drain out as much water as possible. Refridgerate for a few hours to let the water soak into the rice. It is easiest to pre-soak the rice overnight or in the morning, so that the rice will be ready to cook when you come home from work. In a large pot, boil the water and add the rice. Let it simmer for 30 min on medium heat. The rice should become very soft and fluffy and the liquid is slightly thickened. The consistency of the congee is typically similar to a Western style cream soup, but you can always add or reduce the water to make the congee to your desired consistency. I like my congee with medium consistency (not too watery but not too thick). While the rice is cooking, lightly marinade the ground beef with a little bit of salt or
Read more