Couscous with Spinach, Sun-dried Tomatoes & Pine nuts

I had some sun-dried tomatoes lying around in the freezer. During summers they get used up to make pesto and sandwiches. But during winters, I can't seem to find much use for them. I also had a packet of couscous with toasted pine nuts in the pantry. So, I thought, why not put the two together and make an

entrée for tonight's dinner? Perfect! But something was still missing - greens! And then I thought of adding some spinach - why not! The end result was a quick dinner that my kiddo absolutely loved - though he was amused with the word "couscous"!

I did have a flavored instant couscous packet, but you could replace with regular couscous as well. Just double the amount of minced ginger & garlic used in the recipe. Also add some toasted pine nuts and dried herbs (personally I would prefer dried basil & parsley, but no harm playing around with the flavors). I had homemade sun-dried tomatoes, but am sure the store bought ones would work well too, just adjust the salt and spices accordingly.

Preparation and cooking: 15 minutes         Serves:2

Ingredients:

Cousous - 1 packet
Scallions - 1 small bunch (sliced fine)
Ginger - 1 small piece, minced
Garlic, 1 clove, minced
Sun-dried tomatoes - 2 tablespoons
Spinach - ¼ cup, chopped fine

Vegetable Stock -1 and ¼ cup

Parsley - for garnsish

Oil - 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Place the oil along with the white part of the scallions and the minced ginger and garlic for 1 minute in the microwave.





2. Now add the sun-dried tomatoes and spinach to it and microwave it for another minute.





3. Next, stir in the contents of the spice pack (or whatever spices you are adding as well as the toasted pine nuts) and the vegetable stock and cook covered for 5 minutes until the water boils.





4. At this stage, add the couscous and let the covered bowl stand alone for 5 minutes.  Remove the cover and fluff the couscous with a fork.





5. Garnish it with the green part of the scallions and finely chopped parsley.
   
   
   
   

I served it for dinner tonight with some Schezuan Broccoli

Tip: The couscous can be cooked with plain water as well, I prefer vegetables stock as it gives it a good flavor. I have cooked instant couscous for which the ratio of liquid to couscous would be the one given. If cooking regular couscous, the ratio would be different and would take longer to cook as well.

Sending this across to  Kiran’s  ”Cooking with Whole Foods – Spinach” event.