Mintea Couscous (Vegan)

Name: Mintea Couscous (Vegan)
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 -3 moroccan mint tea bags (I used two but I'm confident that 3 would not overpower the dish); 1/2 cup boiling water; 2 tablespoons olive oil (I used 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter); 1 medium yellow onion, finely minced; 1 garlic clove, finely minced; 3/4 teaspoon sugar (optional but will help the onions to caramelize); 1 large tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped (good quality canned tomatoes will definitely work!); 2 tablespoons black raisins (I used half flame raisins and half golden raisins); 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas (I used about 3/4 cup and they were freshly cooked) or 1/2 canned chick-peas (I used about 3/4 cup and they were freshly cooked); 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon saffron thread; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 cups cooked couscous (Israeli or pearl couscous, rice, quinoa are all good substitutes); fresh dill (my addition but optional) or dried dill, to garnish (my addition but optional)

Submitted by COOKGIRl

"I found this recipe on the inside cover of a box of Morrocan Mint Tea from the Numi company. The other day I made up a small batch of this: Recipe #484658 and it worked well in the recipe. Moroccan Mint is spearmint, by the way. Skip the butter (which is one of only a few minor changes) to keep this vegan."

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Ready In:: 10mins
Ingredients:: 14
Serves:: 6

ingredients

2 -3 moroccan mint tea bags (I used two but I'm confident that 3 would not overpower the dish)
¹⁄₂ cup boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil (I used 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter)
1 medium yellow onion, finely minced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
³⁄₄ teaspoon sugar (optional but will help the onions to caramelize)
1 large tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped (good quality canned tomatoes will definitely work!)
2 tablespoons black raisins (I used half flame raisins and half golden raisins)
¹⁄₂ cup cooked chickpeas (I used about 3/4 cup and they were freshly cooked) or 1/2 canned chick-peas (I used about 3/4 cup and they were freshly cooked)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¹⁄₄ teaspoon saffron thread
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked couscous (Israeli or pearl couscous, rice, quinoa are all good substitutes)
fresh dill (my addition but optional) or dried dill, to garnish (my addition but optional)

directions

Steep 2-3 tea bags in boiling water. Set aside.
Prepare the couscous and set aside (or heat up leftover couscous, rice, quinoa, etc.).
Sauté onions and garlic in oil or oil/butter over medium heat until golden brown and crispy (I added about 3/4 teaspoon of sugar to help caramelize the onions a bit).
Stir in the tomato, raisins, chick peas, cinnamon, saffron, and salt. Cook 5 minutes.
Add strained mint tisane and simmer another 3 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Combine mixture with couscous (or substitute) and serve warm. Garnish with fresh dill or dried dill if desired.

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Reviews

I made a 2 serving size of this today omitting and sweetening and the dill (yuck). The result is a delicious, very easy and healthy dish. I'll be using this for lunch but we always have to have a small sample dish, at least I do, lol. The tea isn't at all overpowering but certainly gives a lovely minty essence that blends wonderfully with the whole.

Annacia