I would like to reintroduce you to Mediterranean Couscous! I first made this Mediterranean couscous several years ago and paired it with the Halibut with a caper butter sauce and Oven Roasted Asparagus. It can be served at room temperature and it is a great side dish for when the weather is warm and you want to eat lighter.
This couscous gets wonderful flavor from chicken broth, garlic, sweet and tangy sun-dried tomatoes, salty crumbles of feta cheese. There’s also a touch of heat from red pepper flakes. The perfect side dish to accompany any light meal or it can stand alone as a delicious vegetarian dish when made with vegetable broth.
Of course, here in Front Royal, Virginia, we wouldn’t know anything about warm weather. Yesterday David and I had our first snow day home in over two years. We were long overdue for one, but I was over the fact that we weren’t going to get a snow day again this year.
After a relatively above-average February, March has come in like a raging beast! We got about 6-inches of snow on the first full day of spring! Today is the second full day of spring and I am really trying to think spring. I want spring! I’m ready to sit out on our new porch and deck!
Don’t worry, you don’t have to wait until the weather is warm outside to make this dish.
Let me show you how!
What is Couscous?
Couscous is not pasta. It is actually crushed durum wheat semolina formed into small granules or spheres, not the ground type used for pasta.
Ingredients Needed To Make Mediterranean Couscous
- Oil: Extra-virgin olive oil is used to grease the skillet. Use whatever oil you like.
- Minced Garlic: Use more if you like.
- Red Pepper Flakes: provides a nice warmth without being overly spicy.
- Sun-dried Tomatoes: Use sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, but drain them first. Dehydrated sun-dried tomatoes can be used instead.
- Chicken Broth: to flavor the couscous. Use vegetable broth to make this recipe vegetarian-friendly.
- Uncooked Couscous: I use regular couscous, but you can use Israeli which is larger and has a pearl-like shape.
- Feta Cheese: I prefer the regular chunk of Greek-style feta cheese made of sheep’s milk. I find that it is a lot creamier when you crumble it yourself.
How To Make Mediterranean Couscous
Make this side dish is 4 easy steps:
- Heat the olive oil in a medium Dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat. Add in garlic and red pepper flakes, sauté until fragrant (do not brown), about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add in sun-dried tomatoes; sauté an additional minute. Then add the chicken broth to the pan with the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and chili flakes. Bring to a boil.
- When the broth mixture comes to a boil, add the uncooked couscous to the broth. Remove from heat and cover for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Toss the couscous mixture with the feta cheese, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
How To Serve Mediterranean Couscous
Serve this Mediterranean couscous with just about anything, at any time, or all by itself! Also, feel free to add other ingredients and adjust this dish to your taste.
If it is cold where you are too, then imagine serving this Mediterranean couscous to accompany grilled fish or chicken on a warm spring afternoon.
Within 10-minutes you have a healthy, simple side dish to go with just about any meal. Keep this recipe in your arsenal for days when you don’t have much time to cook!
Mediterranean Couscous
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes If you use sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drain them.
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup uncooked couscous
- ¼ cup feta cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a medium Dutch oven or skillet over medium-high heat. Add in garlic and red pepper flakes, sauté until fragrant (do not brown), about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add in sun-dried tomatoes; sauté an additional minute. Then add the chicken broth to the pan with the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and chili flakes. Bring to a boil.
- When the broth mixture comes to a boil, add the uncooked couscous to the broth. Remove from heat and cover for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes remove the lid and fluff with a fork. Toss the couscous mixture with the feta cheese, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Paula Somers says
I can’t wait to try this! It looks so refreshing and good.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hi Paula! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the Mediterranean Couscous!
FrugalHausfrau says
What a fun recipe~ I love dressing up couscous and this looks so perfectly delicious! I bet it is equally good hot or cold! It snowed last night and now we’re having heavy winds and sleet thrashing against the house. It’s awful.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hey Molly! Thanks! Spring is out there somewhere… 😉
chef mimi says
This is just fabulous! What a great side dish – full of flavor.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thank you! 🙂
Jhuls says
I love couscous and this sounds so good!! I love the added feta. 😀
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks. The feta is great, because it gives you a little something to stick all those little pieces of couscous to that are stuck to the plate at the end.
RN says
Figured I’d try this recipe because I love Mediterranean Couscous. This is a good recipe to build off of, but the sun dried tomatoes do nothing for this, very little flavor at all. I generally use a half of a medium onion, 3 cloves garlic, roma tomato, a handful of spinach, 1/3 cup of crumbled feta.
Aqeelah says
Tried making couscous for the first time with this recipe and its still wet ;( , what did I do
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hi there! It sounds like maybe there was too much water or it didn’t cook long enough.