Twice in one week, LeeLee has peeked into the kitchen before
dinner and exclaimed, “We haven’t had THAT in awhile!”
Tonight’s subject?
Couscous!
I don’t know why I haven’t made couscous in months; it’s so
easy, versatile, and tasty to boot.
Tonight, with my favorite Middle-Eastern Tacos from the Soul
Vegetarian Cookbook as the entrée, I knew I wanted something
non-standard to accompany the dish.
Couscous fit the bill!
These tacos couldn’t be easier to make, and they’re a great
spin on the traditional taco setup. I
took two cans of kidney beans, drained them well, and mixed them with tahini,
lemon juice, garlic powder, and cumin. (The
recipe calls for a puree at this point; I prefer my beans to be intact in the tacos,
so I omit that bit.) Then I let the
mixture sit at room temperature for half an hour or so. Sometimes I’ve done this step and sometimes I
haven’t, but I’ve got to say, letting the bean mixture sit really does make a
big difference!
When it came time for us to sit down for dinner, I set some
water to boil and added the couscous, covering the pot and letting it sit for
five minutes to firm up nicely. At this
same point, I filled four taco shells with the bean mixture and heated them up
in the oven at 350 degrees. While
everything cooked, I set out a plate of lettuce, tomato, sliced black olives,
and Daiya mozzarella cheese as add-ons, and by the time I was done with that
prep work, it was time to eat!
The couscous was a great accompaniment to the tacos; not as
heavy as yellow rice, but equally flavorful, it carried the Middle Eastern
theme throughout the plate. And the tacos
themselves were as tasty as ever. I love
the blend of kidney beans and tahini, and the lemon juice added a great tang!
As for leftovers, we do have a bit more filling for LeeLee
to have for lunch tomorrow with some fresh taco shells. The couscous, however, was obliterated in one
sitting. What can you do?
:)
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