Anything that starts off with a photo of garlic and red pepper flakes frying…well, let’s just say there’s no chance it could be bad.
Let’s be honest – garlic is the best. Always and forever. Amen.
The way I see it garlic is the glue that holds all food together. I mean, I love me some sugar, butter and bacon…but as far as I’m concerned food without garlic is hardly food.
You know, besides baked goods. Whatevs.
Anyway, I loooooooooove Israeli couscous and yet never took the chance to actually make it. That is til now thanks in HUGE part to the awesome Blend Retreat and the fact that Bob’s Red Mill donated some in our awesome swag bags. Y’all, I’ll never go back to regular couscous…it’s Israeli all the way!
The best part about this dish is that the veggies are interchangeable and the lemon juice adds a perfect amount of acidity to keep it light and clean. Plus you can eat it with a big plate of fried chicken and it basically cancels it out. YES. PLEASE.
GARLIC ISRAELI COUSCOUS
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat Israeli couscous
- 3 cups water or chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (more if you like…I know I do!)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- juice from two large lemons
- 4 cups veggies of choice (I liked the combo of asparagus and spinach)
Bring the water/stock to boil and add the couscous. Cook for 10-15 minutes until al dente, then drain. Meanwhile heat the olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes over medium low heat for 3-4 minutes until the garlic starts to turn brown and fragrant. Add in the veggies of choice and cook for the appropriate amount of time. I added the asparagus first and cooked for 10 minutes over medium low heat, then removed from the heat and stirred in the spinach. Stir in the couscous and lemon juice, then season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, room temperature or cold!
I want to bury my face in that bowl. Too bad I ate it all already…
Looks great, and I might make it for dinner soon, but I was wondering about how many servings did this make?
hey kalli,
sorry you’re getting this reply so late! the recipe made about 8 servings total 🙂
This was so unbelievably good- with about half the hot pepper flakes. It was outstanding so much so that I cooked it two days in a row. It really is a delicious dish. Thank you sooo much for putting this out there!
that’s awesome! i’m so glad you liked it!
Such a great side – I rarely use Israeli couscous but I’m totally inspired
Made this today and it was/is very very good. Never liked couscous, but the Israeli version is more like pasta. My only suggestion is to cut back on the crushed red pepper (or have a very large glass of water standing by). My lips are still burning! But worth it!
Been wanting to try Israeli Couscous but never have! Look forward to trying this since it seems sooo delish! I’m a fellow garlic lover, too 🙂
You’re so right, garlic in a pan is certain to be the start to a great recipe!
I totally agree with you about the garlic and red pepper flakes, and I would seriously bury my face in that bowl, too!
I couldn’t agree more – there’s nothing better than the smell of garlic and red pepper flakes. I happen to have some whole wheat Israeli Couscous and was just thinking of what to do with it.
I agree, garlic is good in EVERYTHING! Love it! I have yet to make couscous from scratch, I need to expand my grain stash!
I love israeli couscous– so chewy! Hope you had a great first Mother’s Day, girl 🙂
It was so great meeting you at Blend! I’m right with you… i LOVE garlic! I think I could eat it raw…
We’re having couscous tonight for dinner. I’m doing a Greek variation…but I will use the other part of the bag with this as inspiration. Yum!
I’m just pretty bummed out that we don’t have any place nearby that sells Israeli couscous. But this looks amazing!
I completely agree with the first sentence!
This is going on the menu THIS WEEK!
This looks great. I love indulging in as much asparagus as I can this time of year because it’s just so tasty! And bring on the garlic. You can never have enough garlic in my opinion!!
Oh I can SO relate to your love of garlic! I put it, and a lot of it, in everything!!!
I just made Israeli couscous for first time last week, we all loved it. This looks so delicious!
OO i’ve never had israeli couscous! I’ll have to give it a try 🙂
I’m a garlic lover, too! In fact, I just finished up a post that will be part of “Cuban Week” over on my blog for a super garlicky side dish {Yuca con Mojo} that borders on needing a warning! 🙂 I will definitely have to give this recipe a try, sounds wonderful… it pretty much covers all the bases for my favorite things in a non-dessert dish. Thanks for sharing!
That bag was the thing I was most excited about out of all the swag! Israeli couscous is where it’s at! I’ve also never tried the whole wheat kind like we got so I’m excited to experiment. Garlic & red pepper? Amen. that is all.
Yum! This sounds so delicious!