If you've got leftover
shrimp in your fridge, it's the perfect start of a weeknight meal. The quick-cooking shellfish, when combined with
couscous and field greens, is a healthy, delicious meal.
It takes a minimal amount of time to make, so you can even prepare extra shrimp and field greens to put in a salad for the next day's lunch.
Fish and couscous are two simple ingredients that, when paired together, make a very quick meal. The couscous takes a mere five minutes to cook and the fish requires about 10 under the broiler.
Although the ingredient list calls for store-bought salsa, if you have time, make it fresh!
Pork tenderloin may not be the first thing that comes to mind when barbecuing, but it's just as easy to grill as other meats like chicken breast. In this rendition, grilled lemon and pork tenderloin are served with
broccoli rabe and pistachio couscous. As this cut of meat is fairly lean, it makes for a healthy, well-rounded meal.
Although some folks consider couscous a whole grain, I just think of it as very small pasta. But the whole wheat version of this very small pasta is very tasty and a serving has seven grams of fiber. Not too shabby for tiny pasta.
Last week before
interviewing Marcus Samuelsson, I ate his African spiced lamb chops and mango lime couscous. The pairing was delicious: the meat was moist and succulent and the couscous flavorful and exotic.
While the ingredients were not grossly insane, the method for eating the dish was out of the ordinary.
Couscous is a staple common to North African cuisine. Instead of serving it as a savory part of my
dinner menu, I decided to use it to make a sweet dessert. Most people have had rice or bread pudding, but the majority of my guests have yet to experience couscous pudding.
Don't be afraid of using your grill on weeknights to create quick and simple meals. Especially when the weather is pleasant, grilling is an excellent technique for rapid, maximized flavor cooking. In this recipe a plethora of vegetables are seared on the grill.
Paella — Spain's most well known rice dish — is not necessarily a great option for a quick and simple dinner. However, using couscous instead of rice cuts the cook time in half without reducing the flavor or integrity of the dish. There is a lot of chopping and sautéing in the traditional version, but this couscous variation comes together rapidly with minimal chopping.
Normally I stuff chicken breasts with creamy cheese or buttery ham. When I came across this recipe for herbed couscous stuffed chicken, I got very excited. A much healthier alternative to cheese or pork, couscous is equally delicious.
I hate to say it, but pretty soon the peak season for butternut squash will be over. Butternut squash are best from early Fall to Winter, and although Spring means a plethora of appetizing vegetables, it's sad to see the squash go. To make the most of it while we can, serve a curried version of the veggie tonight.
