Looking for an exciting new food staple to add to your college-budget shopping list? Try couscous. My personal favorite, Israeli couscous, is the perfect mix between pasta/carb-y goodness and palatable fluffiness. Couscous is a grain and pasta hybrid made by grinding semolina wheat into fine granules. It originates from Northern Africa and can be used in a plethora of tasty dishes.
Here’s a super simple dish, tried and true, that you can whip up in under 20 minutes. It makes for a great light dinner or can be paired with fish or chicken.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 cup water
1 cup chopped kale
½ cup shredded purple cabbage
4 chopped garlic cloves
2 tablespoons butter
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper
Optional: almond slices or fried onions
Directions:
1. Pour water into pot and bring to a boil.
Photo by Summer Si
2. Wash the kale and purple cabbage. (You can use either curly kale or dinosaur kale, though I personally prefer dino!)
Photo by Summer Si
3. Remove the inner vein of the kale and chop into ½ inch pieces.
Photo by Summer Si
Photo by Summer Si
4. Massage the kale for about 30 seconds. (This breaks down kale’s tough cellulose structure and makes it sweeter.)
Photo by Summer Si
5. Thinly slice the purple cabbage.
Photo by Summer Si
7. Chop garlic. Sauté the garlic, cabbage and kale in a pan with olive oil.
Photo by Summer Si
8. Add the hunk of butter to the pot of boiling water. Remove from heat.
Photo by Summer Si
9. Add hot water to couscous. Cover and let sit for about 5 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Then fluff couscous lightly with a fork.
Photo by Summer Si
10. Add veggies to couscous and season with salt and pepper.
Photo by Summer Si
11. Optional: Top with almond slices or fried onions for added crunch. Enjoy!
Photo by Summer Si