A tasty dish that is delicate and satisfying for both carnivores and vegetarians! This is a fantastic dinner option during severe fasting periods because it was inspired by the rich Coptic Orthodox Christian tradition of my family. It doesn’t include any animal products or fats, yet it still tastes good and looks good enough to fool you into thinking you’re not giving up anything. I’m hoping you’ll like this recipe. To make this vegan dish a carnivore’s delight, add chicken or prawns!
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 50 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable broth
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 2 cups pearl (Israeli) couscous
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
- 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- ½ cup pine nuts
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- ½ cup sliced black olives
- ⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Bring 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth and water to a boil in a saucepan, stir in couscous, and mix in salt and black pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes.
- Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; stir in pine nuts and cook, stirring frequently, until pine nuts smell toasted and are golden brown, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan; cook and stir garlic and shallot in the hot oil until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir black olives and sun-dried tomatoes into garlic mixture and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Slowly pour in 1 cup vegetable broth and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce has reduced, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer couscous to a large serving bowl, mix with sauce, and serve topped with parsley and pine nuts.
Reviews
We loved this recipe! One vegan and four carnivores devoured this! We added chicken for the non vegans. Soooo delicious! This is going to be a favorite in our family.
very delicioso
i Followed the previous comment and made the couscous last. Used regular couscous because that’s all I could find. Turned out great. Maybe feta or falafels would be a great protein addition.
I keep coming back to this recipe. It’s easy, vegan (although I don’t always eat vegan), and delicious! I have not made any changes to the recipe, but occasionally if family members want, they’ll add a little feta on top.
Delicious and hearty! HIghly recommend it.
This is really a great dish! I serve it warm along side Grilled Moroccan Chicken and it goes beautifully. Thanks for the recipe!
I followed the tips from reviews and made the sauce first, then started the couscous once the sauce was simmering. Pretty dish and very tasty!
The rating is based on having tried it at a friends house
This recipe was excellent. I made it in my Instant Pot which made it very easy. (4 minutes QR). My husband really liked it too. Definitely a do-over.
I used some cashews as I didn’t have enough pine nuts and I only used 3 tablespoons of oil for the whole thing as I used the same pan for pine nuts and the sauce so the leftover oil from the pine nuts was used. I also used red onion instead of a shallot. It was amazing!
Love, love love it
Love, love love it
Since my box of Israeli couscous (from Trader Joes) had only a cup and a half of couscous (instead of the two cups it called for) I added in some cooked brown rice to help soak up the extra sauce.
Excellent flavor!! My husband loved it. I did follow suggestions to use Kalamata olives,added some feta and shrimp. Will definitely make again at my husband’s request.
I enjoyed this recipe. I made it as a side dish. I prepared as written. The recipe is not bland…but it’s not bursting with flavor either. It got good reviews at the table. Next time I plan to use spicy olives.
i LOVE VEGETARIAN DISHES. tHIS WAS VERY, VERY GOOD. Had a difficult time finding Israelie Couscous to go to 4 stores to find it, but it was worth it. Excellent dish, will make again. Bought 5 bags of the couscous so I would have it again. Didn’t have the sun dried tomatoes, but I had the Roma Tomatoes, and it still was awesome. Pardon my spelling,
Didn’t have pine nuts so substituted sunflower seeds….. was OK
Too much pine nuts for my taste. Next time I will put half of them. But other than that , it’s very delicious
This was a tested recipe and it turned out 5 stars. My husband loved this recipe, and has requested it as a staple. I served this, with peach chicken and we both ate 2-3 servings each. Husband admitted to having couscous for the first time and loved it. Recipe was a hit. Will be making it for the next office party.
Not a favorite. Made it as written and found it very bland and laking. Also, the couscous was not cooked in the allotted time and even after cooking additional few minutes it was still under-cooked.
The first Vegan dish I made and I really loved it! I used kalamata olives instead of black ones and I used the olive oil from the sundried tomatoes. I didn’t have pine nuts but it still tasted great without! Definitely making this again!