Tag Archives: Recipes

Roasted Red Pepper Couscous with Avocado and Mozzarella

I am so pleased with this simple little recipe, a variation on this original (once again identified in my TastyKitchen perusings). It’s full of flavor. It’s simple and quick. I know I’ll be coming back to it for weeknight meals.

A few things: the avocado and mozzarella are not just garnishes; they are 100% necessary to the dish. Since I used jarred roasted red peppers (my grocery store was out of fresh ones–I wonder if Mardi Gras had something to do with that), the acidity level of the couscous with the sauce would have been too high for me to enjoy it by itself. However, once the avocado and mozzarella were stirred in, everything became balanced and beautiful, and I sighed with pleasure. I used a pinch of sugar to counteract the acidity, but if you roast your own peppers you can probably get by without.

This could work as a fun side dish to fish or chicken, or you can top it off with an egg or two and call it a meal! That’s what we did, and what we will be doing again.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

1 cup dry Israeli couscous
3 roasted red peppers
2 cloves garlic
1 TBS sherry or white wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 TBS olive oil
1 pinch sugar, optional (especially if using jarred peppers)
1 whole avocado
1 sprinkling lemon juice
1 cup torn fresh mozzarella or bocconcini
4 fried or hard boiled eggs (optional, to make this into a full meal)

If you’ve never made Israeli couscous, you’re in for a treat. They grains are much larger than ‘regular’ couscous, and have a delightful chew to them when cooked al dente.

I think what I used may be whole wheat, but I bought it so long ago that I can’t remember.

Anyway, Israeli couscous cooks just like pasta, so let’s start off by boiling some water.

When it comes to a boil, add the couscous and cook it for about 7 minutes, until it’s al dente.

All of a sudden I’m looking at that picture and thinking “rabbit food pellets.” Ew. Try not to think that–banish it from your mind! This is not pet food. This is not pet food. Or pet, um droppings.

When it’s done, drain the couscous and pour it back into the pot.

In the meantime, grab ye the remaining ingredients.

Toss the roasted red peppers in a blender.

Examine it from a few different angles, just for the heck of it.

Toss in the peeled garlic cloves, salt and pepper . . .

. . . and the vinegar and olive oil too.

Press blend. It just needs about a minute in there, and you can stop as soon as it’s starting to get smooth. I think that leaving a little texture is quite desirable.

Also, please use a top on your blender. Don’t be like me and have a nearly explosive disaster only averted by the quick placement of the palm of your hand.

Very important step: taste the sauce and if there’s too much acidity, adjust with a pinch of sugar. The acidity will be greater if you use jarred red peppers; roasting your own will probably make the addition of sugar unnecessary. And am I ever glad that further testing is required! I love further testing.

With the heat on medium, add the sauce to the couscous and cook for about 5 minutes.

I love that fiery sunset orange color.

It will start off looking a little soupy, so cook it until the couscous passes the ‘drag’ test (when you drag a spatula across the bottom of the pot, the area doesn’t immediately fill with liquid).

Taste again and adjust the seasoning.

Cut the avocado into slivers, and sprinkle them with lemon juice to prevent browning.

Tear up some fresh mozzarella pieces, or simply use halved bocconcini. Lightly salt both the avocado and the cheese.

Some day I need to sing a canticle in honor of avocado. Words just can’t express my love.

Stir the avocado and mozzarella into the couscous, and serve!

I can’t emphasize enough how necessary the avocado and mozzarella are to this dish. Please believe me. They turn it from ‘meh’ into ‘mwahhahahaaa!!!’

You can make a pretty arrangement with it, but unless there’s a camera involved, it’s probably not worth it. Here’s how it really looks once you start chowing down:

Divine!

If you want to make it into a full meal, top it off with 4 hardboiled or fried eggs (2 per person). That is the absolute best way to eat it.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Roasted Red Pepper Couscous with Avocado and Mozzarella

Deer Steaks with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce

Mark my words: this sauce would be good on anything.

Does it look like pasta in the picture? Look again–it’s gloriously caramelized onion, swimming in a sauce that gave heaven its name.

I happened to serve it with deer steak, but think regular steaks. Chicken breasts. Pork. Chicken thighs. Probably not fish since fish flesh is so delicate and the sauce is so thick . . . but then again, why not with a hearty piece of salmon? I’ll take any occasion I can get to eat this sauce.

It could even work by itself! (Think: decadent side dish.)

The Pioneer Woman told me to make it shortly after I started reading her blog about a year and a half ago. Thankfully I acted in full obedience, because if I hadn’t, I might not be where I am today.

Which is in front of this plate, eating this glorious sauce.

The original recipe is here, but I’m going to make it for you as well.

Ingredients

2 whole steaks (deer or otherwise)

2 TBS butter

Salt and pepper

4 TBS butter

1 large onion

1 c heavy cream

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Now get ready for a truly incredible experience.

Seriously–are you ready for this?

Okay then.

First, melt some butter in a pan or on a stovetop grill.

Or a real grill, if you’re a real man!

Oh wait, my man was in charge of the steaks on the cast iron stovetop grill . . . so never mind! You’re a man regardless! Unless you’re a woman. Wow this is getting complicated. Forget all of the above and just melt the dang butter.

Grab the steaks:

Instead of 2 large ones, we had a bunch of smaller ones. Season the steaks with salt and pepper, and cook/grill until they’re done to your liking.

I choose medium.

Here they are, ready to be eaten by this ravenous carnivore that I sometimes become.

And now for the sauce! So simple–only 4 ingredients. Butter, onions, cream, cheese.

Cut the onion in half lengthwise, then halve each half. Are you confused yet? Here. I’ll show you.

Now slice it into thin quarter-moon shaped strips.

Start melting the 4 TBS butter in a skillet.

Add the onion, and cook over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, until the onion starts to caramelize.

Add a little salt and pepper along the way. As soon as the onions are a lovely darkish golden brown color, reduce the heat to low and add the cream.

Oooooh. Whooooaaaaa. Mmmmmmm (the onion sauce has this effect–watch out).

Cook for a few minutes until the cream has reduced by about half.

The cream will take on the lovely golden color of the onions, and you will stare at it transfixed, tongue hanging out, eyes glistening in anticipation, hands scrambling for a spoon. I hope no one’s watching you while this happens, because I’ve been told it can be quite frightening for onlookers.

Right at the end, grab the blue cheese and dump it into the sauce:

Are you a blue cheese hater? If so, please think twice about your stance. Pretty please?Especially because this sauce doesn’t scream ‘blue cheese!’ at you when it’s all done. The rich cheese just adds a rich and wonderful creamy richness to it. There–I used ‘rich’ three times, just to make sure we’re all clear here on what the blue cheese does, exactly.

Stir in the blue cheese and let it melt–and we’re done! Now spoon a large quantity of the sauce on a plate:

Top it off with a piece of steak.

For some reason, I chose a steak that has the shape of the continent of Africa.

That’s another sign you need to make this meal asap–it can turn into a family learning experience. Nothing like a little geography at the dinner table.

I think I can see the city of Casablanca–are those little people running around?

Oh, never mind–it was just some black pepper.

I could have sworn it moved, though.

Enough smart talk! Let’s eat.

Please make sure to slather each bite of meat in this sauce.

Or you can do as we did, and serve it over a heaping pile of rice. The rice does a wonderful job of absorbing that sauce and sending you straight into a state of Nirvana.

What a way to celebrate the over-the-halfway hump in the week that is Wednesday.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Deer Steaks with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce