“Eat good, feel good.”
Pearl Couscous with Peas & Corn
Couscous is a side-dish staple in North African cuisines. It's basically tiny balls of pasta made from a kind of flour called semolina. Israeli couscous, or pearl couscous, is larger than the more common type and takes longer to cook. It fits well into a Mediterranean diet because the Mediterranean diet is centered around whole grains such as couscous even though couscous is actually a pasta and not a grain.
In North America, the couscous you’ll find at the grocery store is pre-cooked and dried, so it’s quick to prepare. Couscous has a neutral flavor similar to other foods made of wheat like bread. The three most available varieties of Pearl couscous in my part of the U.S. are whole wheat couscous, traditional Pearl couscous, and Tri-color couscous. The whole wheat is obviously the healthiest, the traditional is the standard, and the tri-color is the most presentable. Note though ... if prepared properly by toasting in garlic and olive oil and then cooking in chicken broth, you won't be able tell them apart by taste, only by appearance!
Ingredients
Instructions
Toast the Couscous
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Heat 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
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Add 1 cup pearl couscous and toss around until the couscous starts to smell nutty and the pearls begin to have a nice golden brown. This will only take 3 to 5 minutes.
Cook the Pearl Couscous
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In a separate saucepan, boil 1 ½ cups of reduced-sodium chicken broth and add it to the saucepan with the toasted pearl couscous. Season with Diamond Crystal Kosher salt to taste. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low.
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Cover and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the couscous is tender and all the liquid is absorbed (if any liquid remains after the pearls are tender, it should be drained).
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Remove from the heat. At this stage, you can serve the pearl couscous as is or dress it up as follows.
Add the additional/remaining ingredients
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Stir in the grated cheese until totally combined and melted. Add the cooked peas & corn, dill, lemon zest, and ground black pepper.
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Over low heat, stir the mixture until the peas and corn are warmed to your satisfaction. Serve immediately.
Serving Size 3/4 C
Servings 6
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories 125kcal
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 4g7%
- Sodium 334mg14%
- Potassium 57mg2%
- Total Carbohydrate 28g10%
- Dietary Fiber 3g12%
- Sugars 2g
- Protein 5g10%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily value may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Note
Choice of Couscous - As long as it is Israeli Pearl Couscous, the healthiest choice is whole-wheat but I had none in the pantry so I used Tri-color Couscous for this recipe. Regular, cream colored, couscous would have worked fine.
Choice of Cheese - Grana Padano became my choice of Italian grated cheese recently and that's why I used it. Fresh grated Parmesan (i.e. Parmigiano Reggiano) or Asiago are more commonly available and either would be fine in this recipe. Just be sure to try and use fresh grated and avoid packaged, processed cheese if at all possible. Read my blog entry about cheese and you'll understand.
About Veggies - Frozen, fresh, or canned veggies are okay so long as they are pre-cooked. Substitutes are endless: diced carrots, asparagus tops, chopped bell pepper, chopped onion or shallot, etc. I like to add one or two cups of coarse-chopped fresh baby spinach the has been de-stemmed but you need to wilt the spinach (using a 1/4 cup of water) in a separate skillet covered by itself.
