Meatless Monday - Jewelled Couscous Salad

The multi-coloured glossy peppers make this salad look jewel-like so it is beautiful on a buffet. It is also a great thing to have in the fridge over a couple of days as it goes with just about anything and as well as being tasty, it is good for you too. Peppers and other roast vegetables are full of anti-oxidants and although couscous it isn’t a whole grain, it contains protein, some B vitamins and fibre. (You can buy whole grain varieties of couscous now, but I have to confess I prefer the taste and texture of the traditional sort. But please do use them if you prefer.) The couscous that you normally buy here in the West is an ‘instant’ variety, and does not require the long steaming that traditional couscous does, making it quick and easy to cook.

Once again, I use my favourite go to ingredient, Roast Vegetables, in this dish, but I cut the pieces smaller and roast them for less time.

1 onion (red if possible), cut in small chunks

1 zucchini, top and tail removed, cut in half lengthways and then cut in half moons

(If you cannot get a zucchini, use a sweet green pepper instead.)

1 red pepper, de-seeded and cut in small chunks

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and cut in small chunks

2 tablespoons olive oil plus a bit more for dressing the salad

2 to 3 teaspoons Balsamic vinegar plus a bit more for dressing the salad

2 cups couscous

4 cups vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flatleaf parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley

Preheat the oven to 375℉ or about 190℃.

Place the vegetables in a roasting dish and toss in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 to 3 teaspoons of Balsamic vinegar. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften and turn golden on the edges. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable stock in a saucepan until nearly boiling. Place the couscous in a large, heatproof bowl and pour the stock over top. Cover with aluminum foil and set aside for about five minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed. Stir through with a fork and set aside to cool.

Mix the roast vegetables and the couscous together, adding a bit more oil and vinegar just to dress the salad and bring everything together. (You won’t need more than about a teaspoon or so of oil and a few sprinkles of vinegar.) Grind in some black pepper and taste the salad. Add salt if necessary. Stir in the parsley and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Easy Chicken with Couscous

This is a bit of a fusion dish and is a great way to get a really delicious meal quickly and easily. Instant couscous is a wonderful time saver and it tastes great. My cooking method is slightly unconventional as it does involve stir frying the soaked couscous, but it works really well.

You can season the chicken breasts however you like. The night I made the dish to photograph it, I was in a hurry, so I just used a splash of olive oil and some McCormick’s Montreal Chicken seasoning. However, a healthier marinade made with two tablespoons of oil and one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar with some salt, pepper and herbs of your choice tastes equally delicious. 

If you want to include more fiber in your meal, you can always use wholewheat couscous. I have to confess I prefer the texture of the ordinary couscous, but I do serve wholewheat from time to time.

Of course, you can vary the vegetables in this according to what you have on hand in the fridge or freezer or what is in the garden.

To serve four adults, you need:

4 chicken breasts (free range or organic if possible)

about 2 tablespoons of olive (or other mild vegetable) oil

salt, pepper and seasonings

1 large onion, finely chopped

(red onion looks nice in this dish, if you happen to have one on hand)

2 peppers (any colour), de-seeded and chopped in small chunks

1 handful of green beans, topped tailed and sliced in half

(1 cup of frozen peas works well as a substitute here)

½ to ¾ cup flaked almonds

1¼ cup couscous

1½ cups boiling water or vegetable or chicken stock

1 vegetable or chicken stock cube (optional - only if using boiling water)

2 teaspoons soy sauce

Brush the chicken breasts with oil and season them as desired. Bake at 350℉ or 170℃ for about thirty to forty minutes (depending on the size), turning once.

Meanwhile, heat about a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over medium heat and gently sauté the onion until it begins to soften. Add the peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften but still have a slight crispness.

At this point, you will need to soak your couscous. Put the couscous in a large, heatproof bowl and if you are using a stock cube, crumble it over top. Pour the boiling water over the couscous, stir through (you will need to stir a bit more if you have used the stock cube) and then cover with some saran wrap or cling film or an upside down plate. Set aside for five minutes.

Stir the green beans or peas into the vegetables in the frying pan and cook, stirring occasionally.

When the five minutes is up, gently stir through the couscous with a fork, and taste it. It should be moist and flavourful, but not grainy or soggy. If it does taste a bit grainy, add few tablespoons more boiling water, stir through, cover and set aside for a couple minutes. 

Now stir the couscous, almonds (hold a few back for garnish) and soy sauce into the vegetable mixture and cook for a few minutes, stirring, just to blend everything together.

Slice the chicken breasts and serve them over the couscous and vegetables. Sprinkle with the reserved flaked almonds.

Fish on Friday-The 21st Century Housewife's©Pesto Crusted Fish with Couscous and Roasted Vegetables

I love fish, and am all for reviving the tradition of eating fish on Fridays, whether for religious or secular reasons. Fish is good for you, and provided you buy products that have been sustainably fished, it is good for the environment too. According to UN estimates, meat production accounts for nearly one-fifth of manmade greenhouse gases so eating fish one day a week can only help. Although “fresh” fish can be expensive, frozen fish is often a very good buy. And to be fair, unless you are buying directly from a fish monger, most of the fish labelled as "fresh" has actually been previously frozen just after it is caught and thawed under controlled temperature conditions so it can be marketed as "fresh" in the supermarkets. As a result, I tend to buy the majority of my fish frozen, both for reasons of freshness and economy. For example, I can get a big pack of sustainably fished cod loins really reasonably at Costco, and they are suitable for cooking straight from frozen.

Cooking time for fish will vary, depending on whether it is cooked from fresh or frozen, and how thick the fish is. A general guide is that when fish is cooked it should no longer be opaque and it will flake easily with a fork. The timings I have listed here are for my “cook from frozen” cod loins which are fairly thick as well. So go carefully, as overcooked fish is not nice - but then neither is undercooked fish :). Also oven temperatures can vary pretty radically oven to oven, so the first time you make this recipe, just keep an eye on it and go carefully. You can always turn the heat down a bit if things seem to be cooking too fast.

Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients; this recipe is so delicious it is well worth the trouble, and it really does not take very long to put together. If red or yellow peppers are too expensive, you can use green bell peppers instead, or even some roasted red peppers from a jar (don’t roast the jarred peppers though, just heat them through with the couscous at the end of cooking). Same thing goes for the red onion - a plain onion will do nicely if the red ones are pricey.

My family love this recipe, but I love the fact that it is special enough for company too. It’s easily doubled if you have extra guests.

For the fish:-
4 cod or haddock loins, filleted, bones removed
(fresh or frozen)
2 tablespoons prepared basil pesto from a jar
2 tablespoons matzo meal (or bread crumbs)
drizzle of olive oil
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

For the vegetables:-
1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped in medium pieces
1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and chopped in medium pieces
1 zucchini, chopped in half moons
(cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, and then slice)
1 small red onion, peeled and cut in eighths
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Enough couscous for 4 people, prepared according to package directions.

4 large squares of aluminum foil

Start with the vegetables – place the peppers, zucchini and onion in a roasting dish. Drizzle with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and toss to cover. Place in the oven and roast at 400℉ (200℃) for about twenty-five minutes, stirring once half way through.

Meanwhile, mix the pesto, matzo meal and lemon rind together in a small bowl. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil into the mixture and stir.

Place each cod loin on a square of aluminum foil, skin side down. Sprinkle a bit of lemon juice over each piece. Using a spoon and your fingers, gently press the pesto mixture on to the top of the fish. Seal the aluminum foil up round each piece in a package shape. (Don’t press the foil down on to the fish or topping.) Place the fish parcels on a baking sheet and bake at 400℉ or 200℃ for about ten to fifteen minutes.

At this point, remove the fish from the oven and open the top of the parcels, leaving the foil open. Return to the oven so that the fish can finish cooking and the pesto crust can brown a little. This will take about five to ten minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish and whether it was fresh or frozen to start with. The fish is done when it is no longer opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

If the vegetables have finished cooking before the fish, just remove them from the oven and cover with aluminum foil and a clean tea towel to keep warm.

Prepare enough couscous for four people according to package directions. (This should normally take about five minutes.) Mix the couscous and roasted vegetables together (including any remaining oil in the roasting pan), and divide between four plates.

When it is fully cooked, serve the pesto crusted fish on top of the roasted vegetable couscous.