Autumn Couscous

The early fall pantry purge is in effect at our house.  I always promise myself (and insist that others follow suit) that food items will be faithfully rotated and used.  For days after a cleaning out/up, I stand in front of the pantry and pat myself on the back.  Then it slowly starts to happen--there's no time to line up the cans of tomatoes and echos of "I didn't know we had sardines so I bought more" bounce around the kitchen.  I came across an undated container of couscous over the weekend.  Not sure how long this coarsely ground semolina pasta would last, or how long it had been lurking in the back of the pantry, the urge to get it on the table was great.

Couscous takes deliciously to what one adds to the dish.  Most of the time, I use chicken or vegetable broth as the liquid.  Both impart a layer of flavor on which to build.  The only thing autumnal about this dish is the color in the added vegetables!!

Autumn Couscous

1 cup of chicken stock (or water)
1 cup couscous
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Add the vegetable oil and the stock to a one quart pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Stir in the couscous and bring back to a bubble.  Turn off heat, cover pot and allow to sit for five minutes.
Fluff the couscous with a fork.

Prepare the vegetable mixture

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
8 to 10 cherry tomatoes, red and yellow if possible, halved
2 scallions, thinly sliced, including about a inch of green
1 fat garlic clove, minced
5 bottled artichoke hearts, rough chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice and zest from 1/2 lemon

1.  Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat.
2.  Add the tomatoes, scallions, garlic and artichoke hearts and saute until the tomatoes have given up some of their juices--about five minutes.
3.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
4.  Stir the vegetables, and the accumulated liquid, into the cooked couscous.
5.  Stir in the lemon juice and zest.
6.  Refrigerate for at least two hours.
7.  Bring to room temperature to serve.

ENJOY!