Couscous with lemon vegetables
2 servings
30 minutes
Couscous with lemon and vegetables is a bright and aromatic dish of Arab cuisine that brings the warmth of Eastern traditions to your table. Its roots go back to the Maghreb, where couscous is a staple food. The tender grains of couscous soaked in vegetable broth become airy and fluffy, while juicy vegetables—carrots, zucchini, sweet peppers, and spicy chili—add richness to the flavor. Lemon juice adds freshness, and herbs complete the composition with natural aromas. This dish is perfect for both everyday dinners and family gatherings. Couscous with vegetables can be served as a standalone dish or as a side to meat or fish. Due to its simplicity in preparation and rich taste, it will become a favorite recipe in your culinary collection.
1
Depending on the season, the composition and quantity of vegetables in couscous can vary greatly. In the simplest version, especially in winter, it's enough to add carrots, onions, and fresh herbs.
- Carrot: 1 piece
- Onion: 1 piece
- Green: 0.5 bunch
2
In a deep skillet, heat vegetable oil - preferably olive oil. Peel the carrot and onion. Cut the carrot into cubes, like vegetables for vinaigrette. Chop the onion finely. Simultaneously fry the carrot and onion in the heated oil over high heat for 4-5 minutes.
- Vegetable oil: 3 tablespoons
- Carrot: 1 piece
- Onion: 1 piece
3
Cut a small young zucchini or courgette into cubes. If the zucchinis are very young, they can be left unpeeled. Peel and remove seeds from more mature zucchinis if they have formed. Cut the zucchini into cubes about twice the size of those for an Olivier salad. By the way, it's better if the vegetables for the dish are cut uniformly.
4
Clean the sweet pepper from seeds and cut into small slices or cubes if the pepper is meaty enough. Cut the hot pepper into rings and remove the seeds. Determine the amount of hot pepper to taste. Add the chopped zucchini and pepper to the sautéed onion with carrots, mix, and sauté all vegetables for 6-7 minutes while stirring frequently.
- Zucchini: 1 piece
- Sweet pepper: 2 pieces
- Chili pepper: 1 piece
5
Peel and chop the garlic coarsely. Add the garlic to the vegetables and salt to taste. Add a cup of broth - meat, chicken, or vegetable. In the simplest case, you can add plain water. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer the vegetables for 2-3 minutes. This completes the preparation of the vegetable part of the dish.
- Garlic: 3 cloves
- Salt: to taste
- Vegetable broth: 1 glass
6
Immediately after the broth with vegetables boils, add dry couscous and stir. Cover the saucepan with a lid, reduce the heat to minimum and leave the couscous with vegetables for 4-5 minutes. Then turn off the heat, stir the grains and vegetables again and leave for another 4-5 minutes. After that, the couscous will fully absorb all the liquid and become fluffy like rice with vegetables.
- Couscous: 1 glass
7
Remove all leaves from the herbs — parsley, dill, cilantro — and discard the stems. Chop the herbs finely and add them to the couscous with vegetables. Optionally, drizzle the dish with 1-2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
- Green: 0.5 bunch
- Lemon: to taste
8
Mix the couscous with vegetables and arrange it on plates or in one large dish suitable for serving at a family lunch. Cut small ripe tomatoes in half or into wedges and place them on top of the finished dish.
- Grape tomatoes: 4 pieces