Organic Kitchen | Israeli Roasted Tomato Couscous
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It's around this time of season when tomato vines in the garden are literally dripping with fruit, so much so that in my garden I have to wonder what on earth I'll do with them all. One of my favourite late summer recipes is this Israeli couscous and roasted tomato dish, a recipe I love from an issue of Gourmet (September, 2002).
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Summer tomatoes are already bursting with flavour, but there's something amazing about roasting them, a complexity in flavour, bold taste profiles and a reduction in the fruit's natural acidity. This recipe is simple to prepare - a delicious lunch or light dinner.
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Garnish with a variety of herbs cut fresh from the garden!! Here I used parsley, thyme and mint.
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INGREDIENTS
For roasted tomatoes and dressing
- 2 pints red grape or cherry tomatoes (1 1/2 pound)
- 3 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For couscous
- 2 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 2 1/4 cups pearl (Israeli) couscous
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
METHOD
Roast tomatoes and make dressing:
Preheat oven to 250°F.
Halve tomatoes through stem ends and arrange, cut sides up, in 1 layer in a large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pan. Add garlic to pan and roast in middle of oven until tomatoes are slightly shriveled around edges, about 1 hour. Cool in pan on a rack 30 minutes.
Peel garlic and purée with oil, water, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup roasted tomatoes in a blender until dressing is very smooth.
Make couscous:
Bring broth to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and stir in couscous, then simmer, uncovered, 6 minutes. Cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes.
Spread couscous in 1 layer on a baking sheet and cool 15 minutes.
Transfer couscous to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients, dressing, roasted tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste.
NOTE - upon reveiwing this recipe to share here with you I realized I forgot to reserve some roasted tomatoes for the final product. Ooops! It was still delicious!!
PHOTOGRAPHED by Celine MacKay
RECIPE from Gourmet
