Je Goûterai - I will taste

Basil Couscous with Lemon Green Beans, Broccoli and Pine Nuts

No. 27: Tangy lemon couscous with basil, green beans and pine nuts – 24.3.12

Helllooooooo tumblr!!! Feels like forever since I last wrote a new recipe entry but I’m not ill any more, am back on top of things and ready to get back to trying some new foods! I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while and today the sun is shining and is a gorgeous spring day so felt this fresh, light lunch would be the perfect thing to have on a day like this. This recipe I found on another tumblr blog named Kimm’s Kitchen :)

http://kimmskitchen.tumblr.com/post/18976255385/tangy-lemon-couscous-with-basil-green-beans-and

Some of this recipe was a little vague so I will add some comments into where I either changed things or to add more information.

Serves 2

250g Fine Green Beans
¼ mug of lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
a handful of basil leaves
Couscous (for this I made 75g of dried couscous per person)
2 tbsp butter
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil
a handful of pine nuts

• Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic until fragrant. Add the green beans and lemon juice and fry on a medium to high heat for 3-5 minutes and set aside. (I did not have enough green beans so I thinly sliced some broccoli to go with it which, if you wanted to add it as well, you add in the same time as you add the beans).

• Cook the couscous and stir in the butter and basil leaves over a low heat for 2 minutes, season to taste. (Here I covered the couscous with Vegetable stock and covered with a kitchen towel for a few moment. When absorbed, I fluffed with a fork and stirred in the butter and then the basil then seasoned)

• Spoon the green beans onto the couscous and top with pine nuts.

• If you want toasted pine nuts, place onto a dry frying pan for a few moments until golden brown.

This was so delicious! I’m not too sure what it would have been like just using the green beans on their own but I liked the addition of broccoli and the meal was light and simple! The bushy part of the broccoli florets soaked up some of the lemon juice whilst cooking, so on eating them, you got this hit of gorgeous tangy flavours from the juice. This worked really well with the vegetables if you crisped them up by frying them for a little bit longer.

Butter and couscous are a match made in food heaven. I’ve never tried butter in couscous but it just gives it that little extra dimension of flavour, not to mention making it gorgeously creamy and soft. There were so many different textures within this dish and I feel this is what makes it such a good little meal. There was the soft couscous and beans, a slight crispiness from the broccoli and a crunch from the pine nuts. I absolutely loved it!!