Couscous, It's A Funny Word

I started making couscous for the vegan in the house, he likes it, so I thought I would give it a try too.  Couscous is made from semolina wheat, and is cooked by steaming it, which makes it a fast and easy dish to prepare.  I roasted fresh mixed vegetables in the oven and tossed them with the couscous for his meal the other night.  And well to my surprise, couscous is going to be a favorite of mine too!  It's light, and mixed with the vegetables it's a meal all in itself. 

I started looking into what else I could do with these teeny tiny little grains of pasta, basically that's what it is.  While searching around, I found that you can eat it hot or cold, mix it with fruits and nuts, make a salad with it or toast it for a more crunchy texture.  These are just a few ideas, be creative with it, it's versitile.

There are some different kinds of couscous out on the market.  Moroccan, the tiny grained couscous, Iraeli couscous is a small peppercorn size couscous and Lebanese couscous is a larger pea sized couscous, these three are just a few.

You can steam couscous in water or chicken, beef or vegetable stock.  I used vegetable stock for this version of Couscous with Roasted Vegetables.  For each cup of dry couscous you are cooking, use 1 1/2 cups of water or stock.  Bring the water or stock to a boil in a pan, add 1 tablespoon of butter, if you like.  Pour in the couscous, stir, remove from heat and cover with a lid.  Let it sit for 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork. I squeezed in juice of a lemon and tossed in 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley along with my vegetables.  

I used fresh green beans, red, yellow and green peppers, green and yellow zucchini and carrots.  The vegan likes his veggies chunky so that's how I made them,  he feels like he is eating more that way, go figure.  Drizzle a little olive oil onto a baking sheet, toss on the veggies, drizzle with a little more olive oil, 2 cloves chopped garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and fresh parsley.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 -25 minutes.

My couscous is done and tossed with my vegetables.  It was so delicious, the vegan asked if there was any leftover for his midnight snack, was he joking?  There wasn't any of this leftover!