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Couscous with Cauliflower and Almonds

(recipe, Rebeca Torres Rose)

Introduction

from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Ingredients

  1. ½ cup whole almonds
  2. 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  3. 1 small red onion, minced
  4. 1 small cauliflower, finely chopped
  5. salt and freshly ground pepper
  6. 1 cup couscous
  7. 2 tsp. smoked paprika
  8. 1½ cups vegetable stock or water
  9. ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
  10. freshly grated Manchego or Parmesan cheese as a garnish (optional)

Steps

  1. Place a dry deep skillet with a tight fitting lid over medium-high heat. Once it is hot, add the almonds and dry cook them, stirring constantly, until they are toasted and fragrant, about a couple of minutes. Remove them from the pan and set them aside to cool.
  2. Add the olive oil to the pan and then cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until soft and it begins to colour, around 2 minutes. Add the finely chopped cauliflower and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until all the cauliflower pieces are coated in the oil and start to pop and stutter in the pan, around 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in the couscous and keep stirring until it too is coated in oil and begins to toast, about another 3 to 5 minutes.
  3. Sprinkle the mixture with the smoked paprika and stir everything together. Stir in the stock or water and bring to a boil. Cover the pan with the lid and turn down the heat to very low. Let the couscous cook for 5 minutes (15 minutes if you are using whole wheat couscous).
  4. While the couscous is cooking, chop the almonds as fine as you can get them. Once cooked, add the almonds and chopped parsley to the couscous and gently fluff it with a fork. Return the lid to the pan and turn off the heat. Let the couscous rest for a minute or so, then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve immediately topped with a little bit of grated cheese, although this couscous tastes just as good the next day cold out of the fridge.