Taste Buds: Mediterranean Dinner Part 2: Couscous with Colorful Vegetables

A continuation from last week’s post, this dish was the perfect side dish with all the healthy elements and flavorful lightness that is truly Mediterranean. Cindy prepared this dish and I’m so proud on how she tackled the vegetables because that was a lot of chopping!

The Vegetables Involved:
Zucchini
Eggplant
Green Beans
White Cabbage
Dried Chile
Tomatoes

And the Other Ingredients:
Couscous
Salt & Pepper
Garlic
Clarified Butter
Vegetable Stock
Garbanzo Beans
Saffron Powder
Cilantro Leaves

Couscous takes only 5 minutes to prepare, that’s if you have the couscous on hand. Unfortunately the one I got was old and we had to get a new box. Anyway, once we got the box, it was quick and easy. In lightly salted boiling water, pour the couscous in and let it swell. Fluff up with a fork and you’re good to go.

Now the veggies! Trim the zucchini, rinse them and cut them into thick batons, which Cindy and I interpreted as quartered and about two inches long. Rinse, halve, seed and chop the tomatoes, dice peeled carrots and also cut the eggplant into large dice as well. Cut the trimmed green beans in half, shred the white cabbage and chop the garlic.

Heat 3 tablespoons or so of clarified butter and cook the carrots, green beans and white cabbage in a large skillet. Add the garlic and chile, then lower the heat. Add the zucchini and eggplant and cover the pan. After the veggies cook, add the vegetable stock, the tomatoes and garbanzo beans. Season the veggies with salt, pepper and saffron (we used saffron salt).

Then it’s pretty much done. Just serve the vegetables on the couscous, top with cilantro leaves, and you’ve got yourself a healthy side dish!

Couscous