Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Mediterranean Couscous

Main Dishes

Some things are just meant to be. A couple of weeks ago I was jogging through Harvard Square when I heard someone calling my name. I was disoriented for a second, but when I turned around, I was surprised to see that it was my friend Rashmi from college – crazy, huh – we had no idea that we both lived in Boston! When we met for drinks the next week it felt like no time had passed at all, so I was super excited to have Rashmi and her hubby Ed over for a Greek-inspired dinner last weekend. I’m trying to relax more when we have friends over and not stress myself out by making too many dishes and spending the entire weekend in the kitchen. So, I kept things simple and served chicken kabobs with tzatziki alongside a big Greek salad and Elly’s amazing moussaka. Our guests brought kataifi for dessert and Greek wine.  It was a perfect evening of good food and even better company!

I also made a version of my favorite couscous to serve with the kabobs. It’s stuffed with goodies like artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, chickpeas, feta, and almonds, and dressed with an oregano lemon vinaigrette. I often whip this up for dinner when I’m tired because couscous cooks so quickly and it’s filling enough for a full meal with just the almonds and chickpeas, which are pantry staples I always have around. But, the dish is really versatile and I often add other ingredients like chicken sausage or mix things up by stuffing the couscous into roasted bell peppers!

p.s. Congrats to Cara who won my CSN Stores gift card giveaway!

Mediterranean Couscous
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups whole wheat couscous
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 2 lemons
2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup crumbled feta
1 cup toasted coarsely chopped almonds

Directions:
To prepare couscous, bring chicken stock to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Remove from heat, pour in couscous, and stir well. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium high heat and sauté onion for 5 to 7 minutes or until softened; add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute.

Whisk remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, and salt in a small bowl until smooth to make the lemon vinaigrette.

Place couscous, onions, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, chickpeas, feta, almonds, and lemon vinaigrette in a very large bowl and mix until well combined. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 586 calories, 23.8g fat, 16.6g fiber, 21.0g protein per serving
Cost: $2.21 per serving

Mediterranean Portobello Mushroom and Eggplant Stacks

Although I make vegetarian meals a couple times a week, it’s usually because I’m feeling too lazy to really cook. I often whip up simple meals like pizza, tofu fried rice, or breakfast for dinner when I’m super busy, but I rarely put extra effort into making really...

Gruyere Risotto with Asparagus and Mushrooms

I apologize if you had trouble with my blog earlier this week. I tried to upgrade my WordPress account and the theme completely crashed – ugh. Luckily, my better half is a computer whiz and very supportive of my blogging. He stayed up until 5am – yes, 5am – to fix it...

Goat Cheese Risotto with Yellow Squash and Zucchini

It’s Wednesday night, and if all goes well, this post will go live on Friday. I’m leaving for San Diego early tomorrow morning for another work conference and thought I’d see how the scheduled post function works! Hopefully by the time you’re reading this, I’ll be all...

Spinach, Bacon, and Blue Cheese Stuffed Pecan Crusted Chicken Breasts

I’m often asked how I manage to post original recipes so often while working long hours and hitting the gym the majority of the days of the week. Well, what I usually do is work in bursts. I may perfect three or four recipes in one weekend and then take a break. I...

Maple Pecan Salmon over Roasted Potato, Apple, and Bacon Hash

I don’t usually buy a lot of produce at Costco, since it’s tough for just the two of us to eat our way through their large packages of fruits and veggies before it all spoils (although I do regularly make an exception of their Brussels sprouts and berries because we...

Cheddar, Feta, and Pecorino Romano Mac & Cheese

First of all, thanks to everyone who entered my blogiversary giveaway. A few of you correctly guessed the very common ingredient I don’t like is....black pepper! In fact, when Apolinaras wants to make sure I don’t dig into his portion of mac & cheese, he’ll...

Summer Veggie and Chicken Lasagna with Goat Cheese Sauce

I think I’ve mentioned before that I often devour leftovers for dinner because I tend to get home pretty late and I'm always starving when  I walk in the door. So, when I do manage to find time to cook during the week, I’m usually whipping up a meal to enjoy the...

BBQ Chicken Tacos

I tune everything out when I’m reading, which can be a good or bad habit depending on the situation. Good because I can read in any environment and not get distracted, but bad for the same reason because I keep missing my bus stops! I have a 45 minute commute, and...