Vegetarian Couscous with Pine Nuts

Vegetarian Couscous with Pine Nuts

Hello and how are you doing on this Meatless Monday?

Tell me what you did over the weekend! As for me, I went to watch the second installation of the Hunger Games movie – Catching Fire. I must say that I have read the books and the movie stays true to the book. It was more grown up then the first so it appealed more to me however there were no fireworks or clincher for me to be wowed. But, I digress as this is not a blog for movie reviews but one about food. So, to recover from the excesses of the weekend, here is a simple and satisfying vegetarian couscous recipe for you to try. If not for today, then bookmark it for next week!

Couscous is so simple to cook. It is really as simple as boiling water and adding couscous into it to absorb the water. 10 minutes later you have yourself a meal! Technically, you can do that. You will however have a very tasteless and bland meal. Why not do as I suggest and sauté some onions, mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes and toast some pine nuts for a very tasty couscous dish. I like how the base vegetables are sauté to bring out their flavours before coming together to form a tasty nutritious broth that will be the foundation for the couscous. Once the couscous has absorbed all the nutritious broth, the toasted pine nuts are added in for texture and a fragrant sweetness to round off the flavours in the dish.

Recipe for Vegetarian Couscous with Pine Nuts

Prep Time: 15 minutes / Cooking Time: 15 minutes / Serves 3-4

Ingredients

200gm Couscous

250ml water

40gm Pine Nuts (toasted)

120gm Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

200gm Fresh Button Mushrooms (thinly sliced)

1 Carrot (finely diced) 

1 Onion (finely diced)

½ tsp Coriander Powder

½ tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Salt

½ tsp Cracked Black Pepper

2-3 Sprigs of Fresh Parsley (finely chopped)

Method

1. In a deep pan, sauté the finely chopped onion over medium-high heat until it has softened (but not coloured), add in the carrots and sauté for a further minute before adding in the mushrooms. Continue to sauté until the vegetables have softened. Next, add in the seasoning and sauté until fragrant.

2. Add in the cherry tomatoes followed by 250ml of water. Bring to a boil and add in the couscous. Switch off the heat and cover the pan. Leave the couscous to steam in the covered pan for about 8 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, toast the pine nuts over medium heat until slightly coloured. Remove from the pan. Once the couscous has steamed for about 8 minutes, fluff it up with a fork and stir through the toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.