RECIPE! Susan’s Vegetarian Couscous

The original version of this recipe came from my Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook by Sarah Fritschner (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1996). I’m calling it mine now because I’ve tweaked over ½ of it based on the percentage of stuff that’s mine in the finished product. This is a great cookbook, though. (In particular it is responsible for my fun baked sweet potatoes that all my friends love, altho come to think of it I don’t cook them the way Sarah says to exactly… What can I say, I guess I’m becoming a culinary rebel!)

You need:
1 vegetable bouillon cube (Knorr makes 2 c. of broth)*
1 c. lentils
2 T. olive oil (I of course use more than this so go for it if you want)
¼ - ½ head of cabbage, cut up as big or small as you want
1 large potato, cubed
1 large sweet potato, cubed
3 or more large garlic cloves, minced
1½ t. ground cumin
1 t. ground cinnamon
2 green or red bell peppers, chopped
1 28-oz. can tomatoes, chopped, with juice
1 16-oz. can garbanzos, with juice
½ t. crushed red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
2 c. couscous
water :)

Get the lentils boiling in 2 c. water while you start your prep; once they’re tender, set aside to add to larger mixture (I add their juice, too).

Get two cups of water boiling for your bouillon; add the cube when water boils, when all dissolved, set aside to add to larger mixture.

Heat oil in deep soup pot. Add garlic, cumin, cinnamon, cabbage & potatoes and cook over low to medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add bell peppers and cook for 5 more minutes, still stirring often. Increase the heat to high and add: tomatoes (& juice), lentils (& juice), garbanzos (& juice) and vegetable bouillon. Stir. Bring to a boil and add crushed red pepper, black pepper to taste and salt if desired (I almost never use salt when I’m cooking and this turns out great without it so it’s up to you). Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes or more, stirring occasionally. (Basically you just need the potatoes tender enough to eat but like most soup-y things, the longer these ingredients get to play together, the yummier the outcome, and as usual it’s more scrumptious the second day.) Makes about 4 quarts of stew.

Cook couscous whenever you’re almost ready; it will not take long. Get 3 c. of water boiling, add the couscous, stir once, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes or so, then toss lightly with a fork (sometimes I toss with a teensy bit of olive oil but I’m kind of a maniac about OO). Serve mounds of couscous with stew over top. Yum! Serve with rolls, garlic bread, cornbread, whatever strikes your fancy. I’ve been eating it with corn cakes, another recent addiction; stand by for the recipe.

This is a Really Extraordinarily Yummy thing to have ready in the fridge for week-long dinner as I am wont to do lately. When I’m ready to store it I mix the couscous in with the stew to put in my fridge boxes and can get it out and nuke it all week long. Very, very good and even tho it sticks to your ribs it does not weigh you down if you want to use it for lunches, etc.

*Special thanks to Jess for leaving me her vegetable bouillon - I am a new fan of this. It makes everything very nummy!