I tend to sleep in till 11am on Sundays and wake up really, really famished. It's still very hot and humid in Boston, so I continue to make tons of salads and smoothies. To keep myself from getting bored I vary the combination of spices, fruits, and veggies.
This couscous recipe is something I picked up from my colleague in Singapore, Cara Tan. Her husband, Keith, is an Iraqi-Brit. I tasted this dish during one of their dinner parties. Today, I made some slight changes since I was missing a couple of the ingredients from Cara's recipe. Plus, she and her mother-in-law encouraged substitution. The thing I noticed about middle eastern cooking is their penchant for combining sweet (dried fruits, for example) with the savory (such as lemon and saffron).
Today, In lieu of raisins or dried cranberries and roasted cashews, I used fresh grape tomatoes, feta cheese, and fresh basil. I also took out the zucchini (i didn't have any today) and used frozen sweet corn and grilled asparagus instead.This recipe serves 6 as I had some friends over for brunch.
Cara's recipe does not call for feta cheese, I accidentally discovered this combination, as I was munching on greek feta cheese while I was tasting this dish. BTW, I highly recommend using the feta cheese soaked in brine instead of the dry package.
Also, if you use raisins or dried cranberries or dried nectarines (julienned) and roasted cashew nuts; then I recommend you exclude the tomatoes, fresh basil, and feta cheese.
Savory Couscous with Fresh Tomato, Basil & Feta Cheese:
1/2 lb of fresh asparagus
2 cups cherry tomatoes
6-8 leaves, fresh basil (chopped)
1/2 vidalia onion (chopped into large chunks), (optional if you don't like onions)
1 c. frozen sweet corn
1 cup. fresh greek feta cheese (cut into 1/4 inch chunks)
1/4 cup olive oil, extra virgin
2 cups couscous (uncooked)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
fresh lemon
saffron strings (a pinch)
1- In a pot of boiling water, cook the asparagus for 4 minutes. Take out the asparagus and place in a colander and let it cool under running water. When it's cool, slice into 1 inch pieces. Set aside.
2- Slice the cherry tomatoes in half. Place in a separate bowl, cover with plastic and chill in the refrigerator.
3- In a separate pan, caramelize the onion in olive oil. Add the frozen sweet corn kernels and the sliced asparagus until the skins look a bit seared and golden. Set aside.
4- In a separate pot, pour 2 cups of chicken stock until it starts to boil. Add a few strands of saffron and cook until it has dissolved.
5- Put 2 cups of raw couscous into a large mixing bowl. Slowly pour the chicken stock into the bowl. Stir and fluff the mixture constantly for 5-10 minutes. When the couscous is cooked, add the mixed vegetables. Toss this mixture lightly and transfer to a serving dish.
6- Serve cousous with the raw cherry tomatoes and fresh basil on top. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the mixture. Serve with fresh feta on the side.
Note: This makes a great side dish for grilled chicken, grilled tuna, or burger steaks.
Blueberry + pineapple Smoothie: (For each person). In a blender, process the following for a few seconds (15- 20 secs)
1/2 cup blue berries
1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1 cup soy milk (light vanilla soy)
1 cup ice water