Couscous Tabbouleh

Life: Ok guys, don’t judge me but I’ve succumbed. My household is officially playing Pokemon Go. Aiden has begged and begged… And I resisted… barely… for so long. (But, I’m a total sucker, I can deny my children nothing when they ask politely.) We had brunch with a good friend of mine and her kids the other day; and she plays with her kids, and Aiden asked again… and I gave in. I just up and gave in. I figured if my friend (who I trust quite a lot) has judged the game to be kid friendly, so it was probably ok. 

And in fact, Pokemon Go is in fact a totally kid friendly game, aside from the fact that it is remarkably difficult for the kids to walk and play at the same time without running into things. (No seriously, Tristan nearly ran smack into a metal post the fist day playing.)

But now, somehow, my life is turning into collecting poke balls for the kids. Tristan uses about 50 poke balls to catch a Pokemon, so naturally he is constantly begging me to get more. Again, I’m a total sucker and can’t resist him when he says, “Please Mommy, I love you, can we get me more poke balls?” in that incredibly adorable way. Fortunately for me, my gym happens to have a poke stop (and many wild Pokemon) so we collect there. I’m sure everyone at the gym thinks I’m nuts wandering around with Tristan and my phone, us hollering about Pokemon. But I guess that’s ok, because it makes him so incredibly happy. Ahh, the stupid things we do for our kids. 

Food: This Couscous Tabbouleh is the last recipe I’m sharing from my Middle Eastern, Greek inspired dinner. For anyone who doesn’t know what Tabbouleh is I’ll be lazy and quote Wikipedia to give you a definition: 

“Tabbouleh (Arabic: تبولة‎‎ tabūlah; also tabouleh or tab(b)ouli) is an Arab Middle Eastern vegetarian dish (sometimes considered a salad) traditionally made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, bulgur and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Some variations add garlic or lettuce, or use couscous instead of bulgur.“

Doesn’t that just sound completely delicious?

I should say right up front my Tabbouleh recipe isn’t authentic, but more of a riff on the dish. While I did use all the traditional ingredients found in Tabbouleh, I also added a few of my own, like balsamic vinegar for sweetness and additional acidity, plus roaste zucchini and squash, well, pretty much because it sounded like it would be delicious. I substituted yellow cherry tomatoes for regular tomatoes, and  onion powder in place of actual onions. I also chose to coarsely chop all of my ingredients which changes the texture of the dish quite a bit. But, I love the end results of these changes, and I think you will too. 

Couscous Tabbouleh– Serves 4-6. Adapted from Two In The Kitchen. 

• 2 cups of vegetable broth
• 10 oz of couscous (1 box like Near East Couscous)
• 1 zucchini, cut into bite sized chunks
• 1 yellow squash, cut into bite sized chunks
• about a tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes, halved 
• 4 TBSP parsley, coarsely chopped
• 4 tablespoons mint, coarsely chopped
• 1 lemon
• 1  clove of garlic, minced fine
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil over high heat in a medium sized saucepan. When the broth is boiling add the couscous to the pan, making sure all the couscous is covered by the broth. Cover and remove the pan from the heat. Let stand for five minutes until all the broth has been absorbed by the couscous. 
2. Meanwhile, brush the zucchini and squash with the tablespoon of olive oil and place on a parchment paper lined baking tray. Roast in the oven at 400* until the vegetables are slightly soft and have some nice color on then. (Time to cook will vary depending on the size of the chunks of vegetables.) When cooked remove the baking tray from the oven. 
3. In a small bowl mix together the parsley mint, juice from the lemon, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and olive oil and whisk until combined. 
4. Add the couscous, roasted zucchini and squash, and yellow cherry tomatoes to a large bowl and mix. Pour the dressing from the small bowl into the couscous mixture, stir well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Tabbouleh is usually served cold, so you can chill the dish in the fridge until ready to serve. However, this dish actually tastes great warm as well, so feel free to sever immediately after prepared, if preferred. 

 

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