Tag Archives: couscous

Mediterranean Lentil Stew

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Delicious and comforting stew for fall days!

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dried lentils (your choice of black, brown, or green)
  • ½ lb dried cannellini beans
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
  • 3 celery stalks, sliced
  • 2 cans tomato paste
  • 4 tbsp Better than Bouillon vegetarian chicken concentrate (or ~6 TBSP vegan broth powder)
  • ⅔ cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tbsp dill
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • optional ⅔ cup texturized vegetable protein

Process

Add cannellini beans, onion, celery, to Instant Pot with enough water to cover them by about two inches. Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes and then vent to release.

Add lentils, tomatoes, bouillon, spices, along with enough water to again cover cover by about two inches. Cook on high pressure for 9 minutes and then vent to release.

Put the instant pot on sauté. Add tomato paste and stir in. If you would like to add some TVP for the extra chew, add it here. Then allow to cook, stirring often but gently, until the beans and lentils are as soft as you would like. This only took 5 minutes for me today, but that varies with age of the beans and other factors.

Serve with rice or just some nice crusty bread. We had it with pearl couscous, avocado, sour cream, and hot sauce.

Spicy Zucchini and Israeli Couscous

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A little spicy. A little tangy. A lot summery.

Ingredients
15 oz Israeli couscous
3 cups veg broth
3 tsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, diced
2 large or 4 small zucchini, diced
½ onion, diced
Small handful of Italian parsley, chopped
Red pepper and salt to taste
Juice of ½-1 lemon

Directions
Cook couscous in broth per directions.

Saute remaining ingredients, except lemon juice, in olive oil until vegetables are tender.

Combine vegetables and couscous, drizzle with lemon juice, top with sour cream if desired, and serve.

Vegan Greek-ish Veggie and Chickpea Stew with Pearl Couscous

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When you have some veggies and a trying to get creative, who knows what will happen?

Ingredients

  • 2 Small Eggplants, peeled and cubed
  • 4 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large red pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 Zucchini, peeled and sliced
  • 1 large (or 2 small) and diced tomatoes
  • 2 cans of chickpeas or 3-4 cups prepared chickpeas
  • 1.5 cups of water from chickpea cans or chickpea prep
  • 1 bunch of kale, trimmed and chopped
  • Pearl/Israeli couscous
  • Vegetable broth

Process

Salt eggplant and allow to sweat in a colander for 1 hour.  Rinse and pat dry.

Sauté onion, peppers, carrots in olive oil for 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and spices. Cook an additional 3 minutes. If you do this in a cast iron pan, you’ll have one less pan to clean later!

Add tomatoes, chickpeas and chickpea liquid, eggplant, and zucchini. Bring to a boil, add kale, and allow to cook at a low boil for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400*

Transfer the whole shebang to the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Check at 20 minutes and add additional water if necessary.

Meanwhile, prepare your couscous in broth according to directions. 

Serve stew with a heap of couscous and a drizzle of olive oil, a spoon of yogurt or sour cream, and some olives.