Couscous has to be one of the quickest, easiest and most versatile dishes known to man. This recipe will take you no longer than ten minutes to prepare, start to finish. The only catch is re-hydrating the sundried tomatoes – which will take about an hour – but you can do whatever you like during that time. I cook my couscous in very-low-sodium beef broth, but you can make this a completely vegetarian dish by replacing with an equal amount of the tomato-soaking water.
Serves 4.
SODIUM CONTENT: 85 mg per serving
INGREDIENTS
1 c. sundried tomatoes, drained if necessary
2 c. hot water
1 c. couscous
1 1/4 c. water
1 t. very-low-sodium or sodium-free beef bouillon granules
1 T. olive oil
1 1/2 T. minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
1/3 c. pine nuts
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. dried basil
DIRECTIONS
Place the sundried tomatoes in a small bowl along with 2 cups hot water. Allow the tomatoes to soak for an hour.
Once the tomatoes have rehydrated, remove from water and dice. Measure 1 1/4 c. water (or reserved soaking liquid) into a small saucepan. Add the beef bouillon and stir. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add couscous and stir. Remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit 5 minutes, until couscous has absorbed the liquid.
Heat olive oil in a small saute pan over med-high heat. Add the tomatoes, garlic and pine nuts and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Remove from heat and spoon into a large bowl. Add couscous, pepper and basil and toss well to combine. Serve immediately.
