Balsamic Tomato Couscous Recipes

COUSCOUS WITH ARUGULA AND BALSAMIC TOMATOES

Steps:

• For the couscous:
• In a heavy sauce pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and lightly saute onions until opaque. Add garlic and saute to aroma. Add the chicken stock, salt, white pepper and dried apricot and bring to a full boil. Place the couscous in a 4 quart pan and pour the chicken stock mixture over and mix thoroughly. Cover tightly and wrap - allow to stand for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and fold in olives and pine nuts, chives and feta cheese. Meanwhile, fine dice the seedless flesh of the Roma tomato, toss in the 1/2 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and white pepper and garnish with arugula.

COUSCOUS CAPRESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking dish.
• Pour boiling water over couscous in a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let couscous soak until the water is completely absorbed, about 5 minutes.
• Slice the tops from tomatoes and take a very small slice of the bottoms so they will be stable upright. Use a spoon to remove and discard the tomato innards. Put tomatoes in the prepared baking dish.
• Bake tomatoes in the preheated oven until lightly charred at the edges, about 20 minutes.
• Line the inner walls of each tomato with 4 basil leaves.
• Toss mozzarella cheese with the couscous; stuff into tomatoes. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top of the stuffed tomatoes.

BALSAMIC COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Saute onion and garlic slowly until tender, approximately 15 minutes.
• Stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil.
• Add couscous, cover pan, remove from heat, and let stand for 5 - 10 minutes.
• Pour couscous into a bowl and top with vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir until combined. You may wish to add less or more vinegar depending on what you like. 3T works for us.

TOMATO BALSAMIC CHICKEN WITH SPINACH AND COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Wash spinach leaves a few minutes ahead of time and allow to dry in a salad-spinner or colander.
• Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through and juices run clear. Remove the chicken and set aside. To the same pan, add the spinach and cook just until wilted, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Lower the heat to medium and add the balsamic vinegar and chicken broth to the pan and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook 3 to 5 minutes.
• Place the couscous in a serving bowl. Top with the spinach, chicken and balsamic-tomato sauce.
• *A few pointers:.
• I use either thin-sliced chicken or pound the chicken so it's about a 1/2 inch thick. It cooks much more evenly that way. This recipe is also tasty with a dash or two of dried basil and rosemary and a few turns of fresh ground black pepper added to the vinegar/tomato mixture. The prep time of this recipe includes washing the spinach, cooking the couscous and pounding the chicken.