Curried Mushroom Couscous
May 11th, 2008 by housewife
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One of my last bastions of “instant” food was rice and couscous. I couldn’t imagine myself EVER being able to make one that tasted as good as the Near East brand does.
Serge thought this was silly, as couscous is meant to be dead simple. But I was holding onto my 1980’s instant food upbringing as the last straw of my (SAD) Standard American Diet.
Having been living in the UK now for over four months, I have finally relinquished the nostalgic hold that the SAD had on my tummy and gone forward to create my own version of my favorite flavour (Wild Mushroom and Herb) of Near East Couscous.
I am absolutely astonished at how close it tastes to the one that I used to buy. And once you figure out, by weight, how much cheaper it is. Well, let’s just say that I am embarrassed at how long it took me to try making this myself. ;)
Nevertheless, we now love it so much that we’ve eaten it three times in the last week and a half.
We’ve been doing a bunch of field and trail walking and, using an old sunflower margarine container, this stuff is très portable!
Enjoy it on your own open-air picnic today!
- Curried Mushroom Couscous
Ingredients:
3/4 cup of couscous
1 1/2 cup water
2 clove garlic, chopped fine
1/2 small green bell pepper, diced tiny
4 large mushroom, chopped very small
1 scallion (or green onion) cut into small pieces
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tsp curry powder
1. Bring water to a boil.
2. On a separate burner heat olive oil in a frying pan.
3. Fry plain couscous for 2-3 minutes until all couscous is covered in oil. *This step is important and is the secret to getting your couscous to turn out like the “instant” kind.
4. Add couscous and all other ingredients to the boiling water.
5. Stir well and cook on low temperature for 3-5 minutes or until all water is absorbed.
6. Serve with salad, sandwiches or tacos.
If you enjoyed this post, perhaps you'd like to buy me some tofu.“When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.”
~Wayne Dyer
[…] Curried Mushroom Couscous by Vera Nadine at Vegetarian Frugal Housewife One of the reasons I liked this post is because I could relate to Vera’s fondness for the type of couscous that comes in a box with a sachet of highliy-processed flavor, what Vera calls “the last straw of my (SAD) Standard American Diet”. If you’re like most Americans who grew up on this kind of stuff, it’s hard to forget that these foods at one point tasted really damn good. In fact, some of them still do. But guess what, you can experience the salty goodness of processed foods with all-natural ingredients!! As Vera says, this is “a quick and very yummy homemade version of store-bought flavored couscous. A nice side dish or easy food for picnics and hiking.” […]
Delicious. A little less salt and a few dashes of turmeric, other than that this recipe is great. It was the star performer at my dinner party over the weekend. Thanks!
Your Welcome Raleigh! Yes, turmeric could be great with this, some in my house are not a big fan of it though, as spices go. ;)
-Housewife
This looks fantastic! I will certainly have to give it a try. It is hard to resist the convenience of those yummy Near East packages but knowing exactly what is in it and that there are no preservatives is so much better.
I love making fruity couscous as a hot breakfast cereal. I just cook it with orange juice, dried fruit, and nuts then add a bit of agave nectar to sweeten. So yummy! :c)
Thanks for sharing your recipe. Happy cooking!
Hi Tracy. Thanks for commenting. And, from a fellow herbalist and cat lover, happy creating!!!
-Housewife
[…] us a weight reducing tip, and the Vegetarian Frugal Housewife has a great couscous recipe. Go to Valueforyourlife for more vegetarian […]