Roasted Veggie Couscous

I’ve been a bad blogger lately. Not enough commenting on other people’s excellent recipes, and not enough sharing of my own recipes! I’ve got some rainy day posts stored away that I promise I’ll get to soon, and some intended updates to the site pages. Since becoming employed, I’ve noticed it’s not as easy to spend all your free hours on something you don’t get paid for … hah.

The big, brown, wrinkly lumps in the picture are whole olives with the pit still in. Just throw them on top of the casserole before you put it in the oven, and pop them in your mouth afterwards for a salty burst of taste that will literally melt on your tongue.

This recipe is a knock-off of shrimpies casserole. It’s basically shrimpies casserole, updated and veganized. G was craving shrimp and I was craving a great veggie couscous mix I’ve been enjoying at Chez Carla for lunch so we made another half and half compromise.

Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil
Veggie broth (optional)
5 shakes hot red-pepper flakes
4 shakes ground cinnamon
2 shakes ground allspice
2 garlic cloves, diced
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 medium zucchinis, chopped into rounds, then quartered
1 very large carrot, cut into rounds, then halved
3-4 small stalks celery, diced
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 cup dry couscous

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Add the garlic and cook just until it’s starting to get color, then add the onions and carrots. Cook for another 3 minutes, then add the spices. Continue cooking until carrots begin to soften and onions are starting to turn more translucent (another 3-4 more minutes). Add the zucchini and celery and cook for three minutes more.

(Tip: If you find you need to continually add more oil while cooking your veggies, brown for a minute in oil, then just add small amounts of veggie broth instead of oil throughout the cooking process. Saves on fat and calories, and you shouldn’t notice a difference. This is especially effective for people whose non-stick pans may not be up to par.)

Gorgeous. Next, pour in your canned tomatoes with the juices and mix it all up. At this time, go ahead and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Let the mixture simmer on the stove for 15-20 minutes as it thickens, stirring occasionally as you remember. I will cover the pan if it looks like it’s getting too dry. You want the juices for soaking into the couscous after. Pour into a glass baking dish.

Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until veggies are nice and soft. Right before serving, boil 1/2 cup water. When the water is boiling, take off heat, stir in your couscous, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork before mixing with your veggies. Feast! But don’t eat it all – it tastes even better the next day.