Pearl Couscous with Sautéed Veggies and Asian Dressing

How does one describe a nearly two-month absence?
A.) A cross-town move.
B.) A broken camera lens.
C.) A two week trip to Italy.

Well, it just so happens that it’s D, all of the above.

But no excuses. I’ll interject a few of my upcoming posts with stories and recipes from my marvelous trip to Italia, etc. The last two months have been hectic, but with fall approaching, I feel the desire to get back into the swing of things. I find that when the summer heat finally breaks that there is a need to go back-to-school shopping, pick up a new trapper keeper and set the expectation for a productive year ahead. So here, in this first post after being away for too long, I am vowing to be more attentive to KT and to making more adventures in the kitchen.

To start off, I wanted to work with an ingredient that is new to me. Recently, I found pearl couscous and haven’t been able to stop making it. I’ve made it creamy, dry, hot and cold. However, last night I had an inkling for Asian flavors. After a bit of searching around, I found a dressing that I thought would work well with the onions, broccoli and red pepper I had in the house.

To start off, I prepared the couscous by first toasting it in a large sauce plan. Then, covering it with half chicken stock and half water, I brought it to a boil, and then allowed it simmer for 15 minutes (turning down the heat after it reached a boil). Simultaneously, I stir fried the onions, broccoli and red pepper with a little bit of garlic in sesame oil.

The dressing was quick and easy – recipe below. I wanted something that was light enough to let the flavors of the veggies and couscous shine, while still having rich and robust Asian flavors.

In a large bowl, I added the dressing to the couscous mixture and voila, a perfect side dish served warm or cool.

Pearl Couscous with Sautéed Veggies and Asian Dressing

Ingredients

2 cups pearl couscous
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1 ½ cups water
2 crowns broccoli
2 red bell peppers
1 yellow onion
1 T sesame oil

Dressing

2 T rice wine vinegar
¼ cup sesame oil
2 T hoisin sauce
1 T honey

Directions
Toast couscous in a sauce pan over high heat. Be careful not to over toast or burn. Once couscous is toasted to your liking, add in the water and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer for 15 minutes. Couscous should be al dente.

Chop onions in a medium dice. Separate broccoli flowers, and cube the red peppers. In a wok, heat the 1 tablespoon of sesame oil until hot and add in the veggies.

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sesame oil, hoisin and honey. Toss in the couscous, veggies and enjoy. Can be served either hot or cold