How To Cook Couscous: Side Dish Recipes Tasty And Fast

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Delicious couscous side dishes: a selection of the best recipes

Couscous is a versatile side dish that requires a minimum of effort to prepare. Due to its delicate taste, it goes well with fish, meat and vegetable dishes.

Content

• 1 The classic couscous recipe

  • 1.1 Couscous with broth
  • 1.2 Video: couscous with Italian herbs and garlic

• 2 With added vegetables

  • 2.1 Couscous with curry, pumpkin and tomatoes
  • 2.2 Video: side dish with vegetables and soy sauce

• 3 Couscous with legumes

  • 3.1 Garnish with chickpeas, cumin and zucchini
  • 3.2 Video: couscous with mint and green peas

The classic couscous recipe

Nowadays, couscous is made mechanically from durum wheat, rice or barley, while earlier it was made by hand from millet or semolina.

The glycemic index of couscous is 1/4 lower than that of rice or pasta, and the content of folic acid, niacin and riboflavin is 2 times higher

Couscous with broth

The peculiarity of this cereal is that it is able to absorb the taste of other ingredients. Therefore, it is better to use chicken broth instead of water.

Prepare the chicken stock ahead of time, so the time for preparing the couscous garnish will be significantly reduced.

What you need:

• 250 g of cereals;
• 250 g chicken broth;
• 1 tsp salt.

Instructions:

1. Place the cereal in a deep bowl.

   

   Keep in mind that couscous will triple in volume after cooking

2. Make sure there are no foreign bodies in it.

   

   All couscous grains should be light, there should be no dirt particles in the croup

3. Add salt to the cereal and mix everything with a spoon.

   

   Sea salt can be used, this will increase the content of useful trace elements in the dish

4. Bring the broth to a boil and pour over the couscous.

   

   Strain the broth through a sieve before heating to remove root pieces and spices

5. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Ready-made couscous can be used as a full-fledged side dish or mixed with fillers.

   

   Couscous with chicken broth has a delicate and at the same time rich taste

Video: couscous with Italian herbs and garlic

With the addition of vegetables

Various vegetables added to couscous change the flavor of the garnish, creating new accents.

Couscous with curry, pumpkin and tomatoes

This recipe goes well with couscous with pork or beef dishes.

Cherry tomatoes differ from ordinary tomatoes in increased sweetness and denser pulp

Ingredients:

• 200 g of couscous;
• 200 g cherry tomatoes;
• 200 g pumpkin;
• 50 g mint;
• 100 g of peeled pine nuts;
• 1.5 tbsp. boiling water;
• 3 tbsp. l. olive oil;
• 1/2 tsp curry powder;
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest;
• 1/2 tsp salt;
• a pinch of black pepper.

Recipe:

1. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half.

   

   You need a sharp knife to cut cherry tomatoes, otherwise the vegetables will wrinkle and lose their juice

2. Peel the garlic and cut into slices.

   

   It is better to take garlic young and juicy

3. Place the tomatoes and garlic in an ovenproof dish and then pour over 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

   

   Do not exceed the specified amount of oil, as tomatoes will produce a lot of juice during baking.

4. Bake vegetables at 200 ° for 15 minutes.

   

   Roasting helps soften tomatoes

5. Cut the pumpkin pulp into cubes.

   

   When cutting pumpkin, try to keep the cubes of the same size, this will make the dish not only tasty, but also beautiful

6. Fry the pumpkin cubes in oil (1 tablespoon).

   

   In the process of roasting the pumpkin, you can sprinkle it with one teaspoon of sugar, this will give the pulp a caramel color and a sweet taste.

7. To boil water.

   

   The water for the couscous should boil with a key

8. Pour boiling water over the cereal.

   

   While mixing cereals with boiling water, stir the contents of the bowl so that the couscous is soaked in water evenly

9. Brown the peeled pine nuts in a frying pan.

   

   Be careful not to burn pine nuts when roasting

10. Chop the mint with a knife.

    

    Mint must be fresh, dry leaves will not give the desired aroma

11. Heat curry and black pepper in oil (1 tablespoon).

    

    Remove the pan from heat as soon as the curry and pepper oil is bubbling.

12. Remove the zest from the lemon.

    

    Lemon zest adds a spicy freshness to the couscous garnish

13. Now you need to mix all the seasonings, vegetables and couscous. Let the dish stand for 10 minutes and then serve.

    

    Couscous garnish with vegetables can be eaten cold

Video: side dish with vegetables and soy sauce

Couscous with legumes

Couscous is originally a Maghreb dish, so a variety of legumes are often used in recipes.

Garnish with chickpeas, cumin and zucchini

Chickpeas, or chickpeas, go well with couscous. Such a side dish can replace a full meal. Chicken or fish dishes work best with chickpea couscous.

Chick peas are superior to other types of legumes in the content of essential amino acids - tryptophan and methionine

Components:

• 200 g of couscous;
• 1 red onion;
• 1 carrot;
• 200 g zucchini;
• 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice;
• 50 g greens (cilantro, mint);
• 1/2 tsp cumin;
• 100 ml of tomato juice;
• 200 g chickpeas;
• 1/3 tsp salt;
• 1/2 tsp peppercorns.

Recipe:

1. Cut the onion into half rings.

   

   Slicing onions in half rings will make the dish beautiful and bright.

2. Peel the carrots.

   

   Cut off the peel of the carrot in a thin layer so as not to lose a lot of vitamins and valuable trace elements

3. Cut the root vegetable into strips.

   

   Cutting into strips allows you to keep the juiciness of the carrots during cooking

4. Fry vegetables in hot oil (1 tablespoon).

   

   Saute vegetables over medium heat to prevent carrots from burning

5. Peel the zucchini.

   

   It is very convenient to remove the rind from the zucchini with a steel peeler

6. Chop the zucchini into cubes.

   

   Chop the zucchini not too finely to keep the slices in shape while cooking

7. Fry it in a hot skillet with butter (1 tablespoon).

   

   Zucchini in the process of roasting should acquire softness and slightly golden color

8. Cover the chickpeas with cold water 3-4 hours before preparing the side dish.

9. When the chickpeas are swollen, boil them until soft and fold over a sieve.

   

   The water left after boiling chickpeas can be cooled and used to water indoor plants.

10. Pour boiling water over the couscous. Let stand so that the cereal absorbs all the water.

    

    Stir the cereals with a fork from time to time, so the couscous absorbs water evenly

11. Using a press, squeeze the juice from half a lemon.

    

    Use fresh lemon for dressing the garnish, it will give the dish a sharp citrus aroma.

12. Add salt to tomato juice and heat it to 40-50 °.

    

    Stir the salt in the heated tomato juice thoroughly

13. Heat the cumin seeds in a dry hot skillet.

    

    When heated, essential oils are released from the cumin seeds, which gives the couscous garnish a unique aroma

14. Pound hot cumin and peppercorns in a mortar.

    

    Once the spices are crushed, immediately add them to the warmed tomato juice.

15. Combine warm couscous with chickpeas, chopped herbs and vegetables. Make a depression in the middle and pour in the spiced tomato juice and lemon juice. Stir the garnish thoroughly and let sit under the lid for 5-7 minutes, then serve.

    

    A bright and fragrant side dish of couscous with chickpeas will decorate the feast and delight the family with an unusual taste

Video: couscous with mint and green peas

The first time I tried a couscous side dish was in a Moroccan restaurant. The dish seemed to me very unusual and tasty. Seeing that such cereals are sold in stores, I purchased one package for testing. Having decided to try the simplest recipe for couscous garnish, I cooked chicken broth for it, and cooked cutlets as the main dish. It turned out that this wheat grits can be successfully used as an alternative to boring buckwheat, rice or mashed potatoes. The garnish is tender, crumbly and very fragrant.

The couscous garnish is not only tasty, but also healthy. The cereals contain dietary fiber, vitamins and valuable trace elements. This makes couscous a great side dish not only for adults but also for children.