Mediterranean Couscous and Vegetables

Submitted by Kittencalrecipezazz

"Plan ahead this needs to chill for a minimum of 2 hours. You can increase the lemon juice and garlic if desired, and the complete recipe can be doubled. Prep time includes 2 hour chilling time."

 

• Ready In: 3hrs
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4-6

ingredients

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup couscous
• 3 -4 tablespoons oil
• 1 medium zucchini, finely chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 cup red onion, finely chopped
• 3 -4 chopped fresh garlic cloves (or to taste)
• 1 1⁄2 cups canned chick-peas, drained (to taste)
• 1 large firm ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup whole pitted black olives, sliced in half (preferably Greek olives)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper

directions

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the chicken broth to boiling.
2. Add in couscous; remove from heat, cover and set aside for about 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.
3. Meanwhile in a skillet heat oil over medium heat.
4. Add in zucchini, green and red bell peppers, onion and garlic; cook stirring until veggies are crisp-tender, about 4-5 minutes (don't over cook the veggies!).
5. Stir in the chickpeas, tomato and olives; stir until just heated through.
6. Transfer the couscous mixture to a large bowl and fluff with a fork.
7. Add in the veggie mixture with the lemon juice, salt and pepper to the couscous mixture and toss well to combine.
8. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for minimum of 2 hours or more.

Reviews

[Catte Nappe]

This was terrific. The only thing I changed was to omit the onions. I made it to go with some grilled lamb steaks; and then had the leftovers for lunch over several days. Definitely a keeper.

 

[Annacia]

I made this last night and had it for lunch today while everyone else was doing hamburgers. First I used whole wheat couscous and omitted the zucchini (because I didn't have any)and added a bit of diced eggplant in it's place and I used whole Kalamata olives. It had a very nice flavor but I do believe that I would add a bit of cumin and coriander seed next time.

 

[justcallmetoni]

I love couscous and this was a wonderful use of the ingredient. I really enjoyed that the abundance of vegetables in this salad and how well they paired with each other. And yes, kalamatas with their saltiness were just right -- much better than regular black olives. Moreover the simplicity of the seasonings allows me to serve this over several days as a side to a variety of dishes a plus when cooking for 1 or 2. My two small changes were to use a little less oil and to not include tomatoes given that I'm not a huge fan and at this time of year they are not particularly good. My only suggestion for making this would be to cook the veggies a bit differently; after 4 minutes the peppers were just right but I wished I could have cooked the zucchini another minute and the onions a minute less. Next time, I'l start with the squash and cook a minute, add the peppers and another minute of cooking, then the onions for another three minutes. Adding this to my staple of repeats. Thanks, Kitz.