Grains & Legumes | 2/6 | The Foodies' Kitchen

Couscous with Toasted Almonds and Butternut Squash

I spotted this recipe at the Williams-Sonoma site and it seemed like a tasty way to cook couscous for my family. The original recipe includes chopped mint and feta cheese, which I omitted. Feta cheese and mint are not kid friendly, and also… I didn’t have any. I also substituted butternut squash for acorn squash.

According to the recipe, you should roast the squash for 1 hour, which I did. If you want to try this method, go ahead and do it. My friend Edith who also tried this recipe, really likes the taste of roasted squash, but my husband and I prefer cooking it in water. It is not only faster, but the result is a more tender and buttery texture, I find that roasting it makes it too dry for my taste. Next time, I will half cook it in water first, then rub it with oil and spices and let it roast until it is tender. Maybe that way I can get the best of the two methods?

The most important thing I learned from this recipe is that you can peel a butternut squash with a potato peeler! I never really thought about how I would go about peeling one of these babies, but a peeler certainly didn’t come to mind. I looked it up, tried it out and I can confirm that Yes! it works!

Couscous with Toasted Almonds and Butternut Squash

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma
Serves 8

Ingredients:
3/4 cup almonds
1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage
2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 butternut squash, peeled and sliced
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for
drizzling
2 cups couscous
cilantro, for garnish

Procedure:

Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Place the almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake, stirring once or twice, until fragrant and lightly toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Leave the oven on.
In a small bowl, combine the sage, 1 tsp. of the salt, the cinnamon, chili powder and pepper and stir well.
Peel the butternut squash. Cut lengthwise and slice into slices about 1 inch thick and discard the seeds. Rub the cut sides with the 1 Tbs. olive oil. Arrange the rings on a baking sheet and rub both sides with the sage mixture. Roast until lightly browned and easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Cut each slice into cubes.
Cook couscous according to the package’s instructions.
Transfer the couscous to a warmed platter. Drizzle with a little olive oil and gently fluff, separating the grains with a fork. Season with the remaining 1 tsp. salt, then taste and adjust the seasonings.
To serve, sprinkle the couscous with almonds. Turn gently to distribute the ingredients and then fold in the squash. Garnish with cilantro and serve warm or at room temperature.

12:13 PM
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- Baked, butternut squash, Couscous, fall, side dish
0

Fried Rice

I wasn’t a big fan of rice, but nowadays I eat a lot of it. I especially like the fried rice with pork we get from our favorite Chinese restaurant, and I was in the mood for some… but it was the middle of the week (no take-out allowed!, we try to eat as healthy as we can during the week, and it’s also good for our budget), so I looked up a recipe to make a quick version of it at home. This recipe is great for a weekday meal, you can sneak in any kind of vegetable you like, snow peas would’ve been a nice addition but I used what I had at hand, some carrots, spring onions, and peas. Aside from being a quick and delicious meal, another advantage is that it is a kid friendly recipe, my daughter loved it!. ( Well, in all fairness, she loves rice… however it is cooked.)

An important note is that for this kind of recipe, old rice is best. So if you have any leftover white rice, use it. Otherwise, you can cook the cup of rice the day before and use it the next day to finish preparing the dish.

Fried Rice

Ingredients (serves 4)
Recipe adapted from Taste

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice (uncooked)
2 eggs
2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks.
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely shredded (microplane)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 shallots, trimmed, finely sliced
1 spring onion, finely sliced. (use the green parts for garnish)
1/2 cup cooked peas
1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus extra to serve

Procedure:

Cook the rice as you normally would, and let it cool.
Using a whisk, lightly beat eggs in a small bowl. Heat oil in non-stick wok or large frying pan over medium heat. Add eggs. Swirl over base to form an omelette. Cook 2 minutes. Turn over. Cook 2 minutes until set. Transfer to a chopping board. Set aside to cool slightly. Cut into short strips.
Add a little more oil to wok (or pan) and add the chicken. Cook until light golden. Add carrot. Stir fry 1 minute. Add shallots, garlic, peas, ginger and rice. Cook, stirring, 3-4 minutes. Add egg, spring onion (white and green parts) and soy sauce. Stir until heated through. Serve immediately, with extra soy.

11:02 AM
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- Chicken, chinese, fried, Rice, vegetable
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Sweet Corn & Quinoa with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

I’m always trying out new things in the kitchen, and I had been wanting to try Quinoa for some time. In fact, I’ve had a box of Quinoa sitting on my cabinet for a while now. As always, I want to keep my Foodies informed, so I did a little research on this “pseudo cereal” as it is called. Quinoa is closely related to species such as beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds. Tumbleweeds? makes your mouth water, doesn’t it?…

Quinoa was of great nutritional importance in pre-Columbian Andean civilizations, secondary only to the potato, and was followed in importance by maize. In contemporary times, this crop has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value, as its protein content is very high (18%). Nutritional evaluations of quinoa indicate that it is a source of complete protein.It is a good source of dietary fiber and phosphorus and is high in magnesium and iron. Quinoa is gluten-free and considered easy to digest. Because of all these characteristics, quinoa is being considered a possible crop in NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System for long-duration human occupied spaceflights.

Impressive, right? Since it’s so good for you, I wanted to try a recipe that I could get my daughter to eat. I succeeded with this one, so I recommend you try it at home. As far as preparation is concerned, no big deal. It takes 15 minutes.

Sweet Corn & Quinoa
with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette

Serves 3-4
Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients:

1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water
2 Tablespoons butter
2 green onions, sliced
2 ears sweet corn
salt & pepper

For the Honey Lemon Vinaigrette:
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 garlic clove, microplaned or finely minced
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Procedure:

Rinse quinoa thoroughly under running water in a fine mesh sieve. Combine with water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then place a lid on top and cook until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the Honey Lemon Vinaigrette in a mason jar or small bowl, then shake or whisk to combine. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green onions and sweet corn, season with salt & pepper, then saute until corn is tender, about 3 minutes. Add in cooked quinoa and Honey Lemon Vinaigrette, then toss thoroughly to combine. Taste, add more salt & pepper if necessary, then serve.