It’s my turn to bring lunch to the office tomorrow, and I’m out of inspiration.
I have some couscous at home (the instant variety) and I was thinking along the lines of a warm salad, but I have no idea what to put in it.
My basic game plan would be to bring a box of stuff to add to the couscous, and then assemble the salad at the office. However, I’ve got no idea of what goes well with couscous.
We do have access to a microwave, so we can nuke the added ingredients, pour boiling water on the couscous, and we’ll be good to go.
You can do a lot with couscous. it’s such a great base for making dishes that are easy and tasty! Try walnuts & chopped grilled asparagus. sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil and some thyme. chopped basil, grated romano or parmesan and mushrooms. roasted garlic, butter and oregano. feta cheese, olive oil and chopped onions. Good luck!
My five year old loves plain couscous (probably because he enjoys saying it!) so I’ve tried to figure out how to make it better for me to eat as a side dish.
I like to take a can of basil and oregano flavored crushed tomatoes (in the tomato section of any supermarket…del monte I think) and just mix into the couscous and heat it. It really tastes like spaghetti.
We practically live on couscous here at times. The best tip i could give would be for you to use it as a rice substitute in a warm salad. I sauted some sugar peas, leeks, and mushrooms and added it to a chicken flavored couscous. it was quite tasty.
Tabouli made with couscous is delish. Here’s a good recipe:
2 cups water
2 tbs butter or oil (optional)
2 cups couscous
4 ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 smallish cucumber, seeded and diced
1 bunch green onions or chives, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Bring the water and oil to a boil (using chicken or veggie bouillon adds more flavor). Stir in couscous and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes, then fluff with fork. Stir in tomatoes, cuke, onion, parsley and mint. In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients and then pour over couscous mixture. Best if chilled before serving.
If you can’t get the herbs fresh, you could try substituting dried. Just keep adding a little at a time until it tastes right.
I dice up tomato, english cucumber (or I seed a regular cucumber) and slice mushrooms and toss it in the hot couscous.
Those are the three I always put in. But for variety I toss in whatever else I have on hand. I’ve used brocolli, cauliflower, and summer squash. Once or twice I have even shredded lettuce to toss in - but not too many people care for hot, wilty lettuce
I like to fry a large juicy red pepper, quite finely chopped, then make the couscous in the pan. The flavour of the pepper passes into the couscous, as does some of the colour.
Don’t forget seasoning! Unsalted, it’ll be dire (adding a little piece of salted butter towards the end will be enough) Rocket works well for me along with the couscous as a salad, bigger leaves end up scooping up big chunks rather than a few grains at a time. Add a fried duck breast with a sweet chilli sauce, and I’m drooling.
just be careful who you server it to, evidently couscous is Penis in Somali…or something very close to it.
one of the Somali girls I used to work with asked me what I was eating one day. I have never seen such a dark skinned woman turn such an interesting shade of red before.
