If you haven't tried couscous, you are in for an interesting time. It is even easier to cook than quinoa, which could also be used in this dish once you cook it. However, the instructions are for couscous. The recipe comes from the latest issue of Cuisine Magazine, which I got in the mail yesterday.
You might like Cuisine because it has no advertising. All you will see on its pages are information, photos and recipes. I really like it. You can pick it up at Tucson's magazine stands, and I had seen it at both Sprouts and Fry's Supermarkets, because I bought my first issue off the checkout shelf and then sent in the subscription card.
So get a box of organic couscous--it is something like a micro-pasta--and try this interesting and super-fast recipe.
MEDITERRANEAN COUSCOUS
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1 teaspoon organic olive oil
1 cup dry organic couscous
1/2 cup frozen organic green peas, thawed
1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/4 cup organic pine nuts, toasted
2 Tablespoons organic lemon zest
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Bring the water to a boil and add the olive oil. Place the couscous and peas in a heatproof mixing bowl and pour the water-oil mixture over them. Cover the bowl with plastic cling wrap.
Leave the couscous to steam for 4-5 minutes until the water is absorbed and the peas are cooked.
Fluff the couscous with a form and stir in the feta, pine nuts and lemon zest. Season it with salt and pepper and serve hot.
You can't do any better than that for a great side dish. But if you want to, you can whip up a sauce that you can drizzle over both the couscous and whatever meat you might be serving, such as lamb chops or grilled chicken.
MINT AND BASIL SAUCE
Ingredients:
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup organic extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup organic white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons organic lemon juice
2 Tablespoons organic sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Combine all these ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree them to create a sauce. Drizzle the sauce over your meat and/or over the couscous.
Keep any unused sauce refrigerated in an airtight container and use over rice, potatoes, etc.
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