I have a soft spot for Middle Eastern and North African cuisine. I love the combination of spices, the vibrant colors, and the exotic and somewhat mystic vibe around it.
Either it’s the tagine, hummus, babaghanoush, flatbreads, lentil soup, falafel, shakshuka, tabbouleh, or my favorite: couscous! I love them all.
Today I want to share with you my easy peasy vegetarian couscous. Easy because you don’t need to cook couscous, how great does that sound? Just let it soak in hot water for 10 minutes and it’s ready to throw in all kinds of (raw) veggies.
This recipe is not the authentic version, nor the secret family recipe kind of style. It’s a simple vegetarian couscous salad with all your favorite veggies and spices. Be creative and play with all the ingredients. So this is my version.
Simple Vegetarian Couscous
Serves 4-6 persons
Ingredients
- 1 pack of organic couscous 500 gram
- 1 scallion/spring onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped in quarters
- 1 cup raisins
- 10 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 zucchini, chopped in quarters
- 1 red paprika, chopped in cubes
- a handful of mixed parsley and arugula salad
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- salt and pepper to taste
- mint leaves pine nuts, pomegranate seeds as a topping (optional)
- 1 tablespoon of virgin olive oil
Directions
- Soak the couscous in hot water for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime cut all the vegetables. You can either eat everything raw or stir fry the zucchini, paprika, and carrots for a softer texture.
- Mix all ingredients together with the couscous and serve with arugula salad and some pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and mint leafs on top and a splash of extra virgin olive oil.
