Summertime Couscous

Last week, my family and cousins from out of state got together for a big summer cookout. Although we had only one committed vegetarian in our midst, the family chefs ended up selecting a vegetarian dish for our entrée. We copied the recipe from Food Network's website, and the dish was a hit with the whole crowd. Total preparation and cooking time was under a half hour, and since we doubled the recipe (and our grill died out), we sauteed some of the veggies. We also used 3 boxes of Near East couscous (2 boxes of Near East Parmesan couscous and 1 box of Near East Garlic & Olive Oil couscous).

I suggest a large fruit salad to accompany the couscous. I used half a watermelon (diced), one honeydew melon (diced), 2 mangoes (diced), 2 boxes of strawberries (sliced), 2 boxes of blueberries, and 2 boxes of raspberries.

Toasted Israeli Couscous with Grilled Summer Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

• 1 cup olive oil

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 2 green zucchini, quartered lengthwise

• 2 yellow zucchini, quartered lengthwise

• 6 spears asparagus, trimmed

• 12 cherry tomatoes

• 1 red bell pepper, quartered and seeded

• 1 yellow bell pepper, quartered and seeded

• 1/4 cup basil chiffonade (stack leaves, roll in a cigar shape and cut crosswise into thin strips)

• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 pound Israeli couscous

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Instructions

• In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and garlic, slowly add the olive oil and whisk until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cut the zucchini and peppers into 1/2-inch pieces, cut the tomatoes in half.
• Pour 1/2 the marinade over the vegetables and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Preheat the grill.
• Remove the vegetables from the marinade and grill the vegetables until just cooked through.
• Follow the instructions on the Near East box for preparation of the couscous itself. Boil 1.25 cups of water (per box of couscous) with some olive oil (optional, but 1-2 tablespoons total recommended) and the contents of the spice packets. When boiling, remove from heat and add all couscous. Cover completely and leave sit (for about 5-10 minutes) until water is absorbed. Couscous is now ready.
• Place in a large serving bowl, add the grilled vegetables and herbs and toss with the remaining vinaigrette.

Ta-Da!

Cous Cous Creation No. 1

One of my favorite things to make is cous cous. For those who don’t know, cous cous is just a type of pasta from Morocco and northern Africa. It’s so incredibly simple to make and so versatile that you can put almost anything in it to make an amazing dish. Generally, a jar of cous cous is the first grocery item I buy. I tend to just throw together things that I have and this is what I came up with tonight.

Ingredients:

- Meat:

o stew cuts of tender beef (aka beef tips; this is optional and I used pre-cut meat because I try to avoid touching raw meat)

o Nature Seasoning

- Cous Cous:

o Equal parts (about one cup each) water and dry cous cous (do NOT mix together)

o About a tablespoon of olive oil

o Diced Roma tomato

o Chopped Onion

o Peas

o Corn

o Basil

o Parsley

o Nature Seasoning

Directions:

The meat is optional. So if you’re a vegetarian like 75% of the authors of this blog, skip right on past this part. Otherwise, I just put the beef in a pan, sprinkled some Nature Seasoning on top (although onion and/or garlic powder will also taste good), and cooked it on the stove until well done (personal preference, again).

While the meat was cooking, I put all of the ingredients for the cous cous mix EXCEPT the actual dried cous cous. Bring this mix to a boil, then remove from heat. Now, add the dried cous cous. Cover immediately so that the steam stays inside the pot. Let sit covered off of heat for about 5 minutes, or until the cous cous has absorbed the water.

I cut up the beef and then added into the cous cous dish, mixing everything as I went. I coupled this meal with a mixed greens salad topped with a sliced Clementine orange and a dressing (personal favorite: equal parts balsamic vinegar and olive oil). And cous cous creation #1 with side salad is now complete.