I recently took myself on a food adventure, which translates into “Lauren attempts to make a food she’s never tried before but constantly hears how delicious it is”.
I decided to finally give making couscous a shot. All of my chef friends constantly talk about the versatility of this tiny wheat pasta, and I have enjoyed it a few times before. I didn’t have a recipe set in place when I began this adventure but I had a cucumber, tomato, some lemons and a dream. I knew the flavor profile I was going for, and figured I could make it up as I went along.
To start, I followed the directions on the package to make the pasta and it really was a “set it and forget it” type preparation. It was super simple, and since I didn’t need to keep a watch on the pasta, I could prepare the mix-ins while it was cooking. I do always enjoy a meal that can be made and prepped simultaneously, since my available time for cooking is not ideally as long as I wish it was.
Once the couscous was cooked, I drained it and let it cool so I could mix everything in and let the flavors marinate. After doing a quick sweep of my kitchen, this resulted in a mixture of the veggies, olive oil, lemon, mint and parsley. The flavors were really fresh and light, and I think the couscous was the perfect canvas to feature the other ingredients.
I would definitely make couscous again. This time around I just served it by itself, but I know that I could pair it with a variety of proteins and feel it would be successful in many ways.
I’d love to hear about food you’ve tried making for the first time. I have a long to-do list of ingredients and meals that I want to attempt, but I am always interested in new ideas. Maybe the next time you are thinking outside the box, you can give preparing couscous a try.
Let’s celebrate your successes here!
