Steele (the Day)

Tasty Bites: Toasted Israeli Couscous with Grilled Vegetables

// August 27th, 2010 // Functional Foodie, Tasty Bites

Israeli couscous is a fun pasta to add variety to meals. Let’s make the summer hang on with some more grilling over at Ginny’s Tasty Bites.

Tea today: Dilmah Ceylon Green

Related posts:

1. Tasty Bites: Grilled Vegetables with Sausage and Penne
2. Tasty Bites: Toasted Walnut Pesto
3. Tasty Bites: Seared Sea Scallops with Grilled Stuffed Peppers
4. Tasty Bites: Brown Rice Penne with Roasted Brussels Sprouts
5. Tasty Bites: Leftover Breakfast for Dinner

3 Responses to “Tasty Bites: Toasted Israeli Couscous with Grilled Vegetables”

1. Ed Dyer says:

   August 27, 2010 at 7:43 pm

   Couscous is very versatile and economical because it is easy to make, like any pasta, by that I mean buy a box in the store, add water and cook. The only hard part is not to over cook the pasta, which I do about 50% of the time.

   I love the nutty flavor of olive oil, so I will pick up some couscous on my next stop at the market. Of course I might try the couscous with bacon recipe I found on the net.

   Ingredients:
   2 cups chicken stock or broth
   Olive oil
   1/2 cup bacon lardon (in 1/3-inch squares, ideally) or chopped presliced bacon
   1 8.5- to 9-ounce bag Israeli couscous or pearl pasta
   Salt

   Instructions:

   1. In a small saucepan, bring duck or chicken stock to a simmer.

   2. In a separate pan over medium heat, add a little olive oil and the bacon lardons. Render (separate by heat) the fat out of the lardons until the meat is light brown and crispy. Add couscous and increase heat to high. Roll couscous in the bacon fat until couscous toasts to a light brown. Add simmering stock or broth. Cover the pot with a lid. Do not stir.

   3. After about 5 minutes, taste couscous. If needed, add a little salt. Re-cover and keep cooking until couscous is al dente (tender but still with a firm bite).

   4. When the liquid is mostly gone and couscous is al dente, pour couscous onto a large baking sheet to cool quickly. Drizzle with olive oil and let cool before serving.

   My favorite tea right now is White Rose from Numi Bros

   Reply
2. Candy says:

   August 29, 2010 at 3:04 pm

   “Roll couscous in the bacon fat…” Oh dear, Ed. Oh dear.

   White Rose is wonderful tea – I haven’t had it for a long time and sort of forgot about it. Have you ever had the flowering teas? As much fun to watch as to drink, but awfully pricey.

   Reply
3. Ed Dyer says:

   August 30, 2010 at 1:25 am

   The only flowering tea I have had was Jasmine Bloom from Adagio. It look pretty but did not taste as good as their Jasmine Pearls. Numi’s Dragon Lily looks spactacular, but I wouldn’t spend over $1.00 a cup unless I really liked the flavour.

   Reply