Spicy Black Garlic Miso Israeli Couscous

This garlicky, sweet and nutty Israeli couscous with a hint of spiciness is simple to make can be made in less than 15 minutes. Fantastic as a side to any meat dishes, on top of salads or on its own!

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Couscous is one of the easiest and most versatile things you can make. How easy is this? If you can boil water, you can make couscous.

 

TYPES OF COUSCOUS

I like to categorize couscous in sizes. There are generally 3 sizes: fine, medium and large.
Depending on what size of couscous you are making, this will change up the water ratios!

 

For this recipe, we are using Israeli couscous (also known as pearl couscous), which is the medium sized couscous. I find the texture of the medium sized couscous very intriguing that they are almost like mini pasta balls!

 

My general rule for water ratio for al dente couscous is:

Fine Couscous – 1 cup of couscous with 1 cup of water
Medium Couscous – 1 cup of couscous with 1 1/4 cups of water
Large Couscous – I haven’t found any of these to play with yet! So I can’t really say! 🙂

Our goal is to maintain each grain of couscous to its round form for that wonderful al dente chewy texture.

 

 

INGREDIENTS

Most of these ingredients can be found in your local grocery store.

 

 

For the miso paste, if you cannot find this at your local grocery store, you can find it at an Asian grocery store. I used red miso for this recipe for a stronger, more robust flavour but you can use any miso you prefer. The lighter the miso, the milder the taste.

 

Black garlic is a trickier item to find. They are generally in specialty grocery stores or Asian grocery stores but if you can’t find this in either, it can easily be found online here as well.

 

 

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Making the Israeli Couscous

1. Toast it – If you have ever eaten Israeli couscous, you will notice that it may sometimes have a very strong wheaty flavour. To reduce that flavour and bring out a nuttier flavour we will toast the Israeli couscous. This is completely optional but brings out the flavours. When it is nice and brown, turn off the heat and put this aside to cool for a bit.
   
2. Bring the broth up to a boil – Nothing special done here. Add the miso into the water and bring it up to a boil. You can substitute this with pre-made broth as well, any kind.
3. Steam it – Once the broth has come to a boil, turn off the heat and carefully add in the toasted couscous. Put a lid on the pot and let it sit undisturbed for 10-15 minutes.
4. Ta-da! That’s it! Fluff up the Israeli couscous in the pot with a fork to separate the grains and it’s done. I personally like my couscous al dente so it has a bit of a chewy give to it but if you like it softer then add an additional 1/4 cup of water to the broth.

Tip #1: Too much water and overcooked it to mush? It’s okay, when couscous cools down to room temperature it has less of a mushy consistency.

 

Tip #2: When you’re adding the toasted Israeli couscous into the hot broth, be careful, it may cause the broth to violently bubble. Make sure you have a big enough pot so it doesn’t overflow or put the couscous in slowly, a little bit at a time.

 

Adding in the Flavour Bits

This step can be done while you are waiting for the Israeli couscous to steam.

 

Chop up all the ingredients and saute it in a hot frying pan with 2-3 tablespoons of oil for approximately 5-10 mins. You want the onions and garlic to brown and toast up to create a sweet and nutty flavour.

 

Tip #3: Garlic (the normal kind) burns quickly on high heat. To prevent this, add it in 1-2 minutes after you saute the rest of the ingredients.

Tip #4: Cooking jalapeno reduces the spicy heat from it – it almost becomes a mild spicy. To give this dish a spicier kick, add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper to it.

 

When you are done browning the ingredients, add the Israeli couscous in and mix! That’s all there is to it. I like to add a small dollop of butter and melt it throughout the mix for some extra flavour, but that is completely optional.

 

You can even switch up the ingredients! Be creative and have fun with it 🙂

 

Enjoy!

 

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