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Salad Days! Couscous With Tomatoes and Herbs
Ingredients
  • 1 1/3 C. Pearl Israeli couscous (I used Trader Joe's brand)
  • 5 T. olive oil
  • 1-2 t. ras el hanout optional
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1 3/4 C. boiling water
  • 10 oz. cherry tomatoes
  • 1-2 onions sliced thin and then roughly chopped
  • 1/4 C. golden raisins
  • 1 t. cumin seeds toasted and then crushed
  • 1/3 C. whole almonds roasted, salted and roughly chopped
  • 1/4 C. fresh cilantro roughly chopped
  • 1/8 to 1/4 C. fresh mint roughly torn
  • 1 lemon zested for 1 t. zest and juiced for 1 T. juice
Instructions
  1. Toast pearl couscous in a saucepan with 1 T. olive oil over moderate heat until couscous is lightly browned. This will take about 5 minutes. Slowly add 1 3/4 C. boiling water to the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cover. Simmer for 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Set aside.
  2. In a medium frying pan, fry cherry tomatoes in 1 T. olive oil. This will take 3-4 minutes. Stir the tomatoes a few times as you fry them. (I found that there was a lot of splatter, so I covered the pan with a see-through glass lid.) When the tomatoes start to brown and split open, remove from the heat and set aside. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the tomatoes.
  3. Using the same pan (wiped clean), heat 3 T. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sliced/chopped onions, ras el hanout (if using), 1/8 t. salt. Fry for 10-12 minutes until the onions are golden brown and soft. Remove from heat. Stir in golden raisins and set aside.
  4. Put cooled couscous in a large bowl and stir in onion/raisin mixture. Add cumin, almonds, cilantro, mint (to your taste), lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/4 t. salt and freshly-ground pepper to your taste.
  5. Spoon couscous mixture onto a platter and top with cherry tomatoes. Garnish with fresh mint or cilantro.
  6. Cook's Note: The use of ras el hanout is optional in this recipe. Ras el hanout is a North African spice. Roughly translated, the term means "head of the shop" and refers to a ground mixture of the best spices available--usually cardamon, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmegm mace and on and on.