One of my absolute favorite cuisines is Mediterranean food. This love started before I went fully plant-based, but has remained and expanded to include Middle Eastern food. I find the flavors and textures really speak to me. Also, the Mediterranean Diet is considered one of the most healthy diets there are. I also saw recently in a description of healthy diets that the vegan/whole food, plant-based diet is now considered just a variation on the Mediterranean Diet.
Couscous is attributed to the Berber people, but has spread around the whole world. My introduction to couscous was through the standard small variety. While living in New York, I discovered the Middle Eastern stores along Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn and found a world of spices and ingredients I hadn't seen before. One was Lebanese Couscous, which has a much larger size than the small one I was used to. I was hooked! Another large couscous is Israeli couscous, also called pearl couscous. It is a bit smaller than the Lebanese, and I have found it easier to find.
I make couscous in so many different ways. It always has bean in it, usually garbanzo, but I have also made it with fava beans. I often make it with beets, which gives it a lovely red color. Sometimes I make it with a sauce, sometimes we just eat it plain. There is almost always a leafy green, though it doesn't need it.
I bake it, usually in a tagine, which is supposed to mostly be for serving, but it steams the couscous and other ingredients nicely (I should get a couscoussier at some point and steam it in the more traditional manner, but haven't yet). You could also do it in a Dutch Oven. I will typically heat up the broth and add it to the couscous and let it sit for at least 10 minutes to let the pearls expand. I also stir in a small bit of oil. Before, if I didn't do this, the couscous would often be a solid lump in the bottom of the dish and this way the pearls remain separate.
Do make sure the greens go under the vegetable. If you don't, they can often dry out and lose their texture.
Try using Tahini Paste when making your sauce! Get some other ideas on customizing your sauce at Tahini/Lemon/Garlic Sauce.
Also, be aware adding lemon juice to tahini can instantly make the tahini very hard to stir. But keep stirring and it eventually blends. You may need to add more water. To give the tahini sauce more body, consider using the cooking liquid or liquid from the can of garbanzo beans.
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Recipe
Pearl Couscous with Zucchini and Purple Kale
Ingredients
- 1 cup couscous pearl, whole whear
- 1 ¼ cup vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 16 ounces garbanzo beans cooked, can use 1 can
- 4 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 bunch purple kale
- 2 medium zucchini
For the sauce
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup water add more as needed
- 2 cloves garlic finally chopped
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika Aleppo pepper, sumac, or cumin (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F if using a Dutch oven.
- Place the couscous in the baking dish. Add the turmeric to the broth.Bring the broth to a boil. Pour the broth over the couscous. Add a splash of oil. Stir well and let sit.
- It is also good with olives baked in the dish. Fresh lemon slices also provide a nice flavor and visual appeal.
- Once the couscous has expanded, add the garlic and mix into the couscous. Place the beans on top of the couscous. Next layer the kale. Finally layer the zucchini.
- Cover the dish and place in the oven. If using a tagine or other clay pot, turn the oven on and set the temperature to 400 degrees.
- Bake for about 45 minutes.
- While baking, make the tahini sauce. Blend all the ingredients together and stir well. You may need to add more water to get the consistency you want.
- When the couscous is done, mix well and serve with the tahini sauce.
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