pearl couscous with olives and roasted tomatoes
I’ve had a minor fixation with Israeli couscous, the larger, more pearl-like variety of couscous, since my first year of graduate school. A friend of one of my housemates who was working as a live-in nanny-slash-cook for a wealthy family in Bethesda, brought over some leftovers from the family’s dinner and what was this? This smattering of white polka dots through a tangle of greens and vegetables? You call it couscous, too? Why has nobody told me about this before!
Estimated Nutrition (whole recipe, rough)
Counts 13 of 15 ingredients — the other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and contribute nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume — 13 portions →
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Couscous | 1 cup cooked (157g) | 176 |
| Chicken | 100g cooked | 165 |
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Cherry | 1 cup (138g) | 87 |
| Red Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Tomato | 1 medium (123g) | 22 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Black Pepper | 1 tsp ground (2.3g) | 6 |
| Garlic | 1 clove (3g) | 4 |
| Olive | 1 large (4g) | 4 |
| Thyme | 1 tsp dried (1.4g) | 4 |
| Parsley | 1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g) | 1 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Peppermint | not in our table | 0 |
Totals for the whole recipe, adding one typical portion per ingredient — listed above. Quantities in the recipe are not counted, so this is a rough guide only — not suitable for medical or dietary planning.
Ingredients
- 2 pt red grape or cherry tomatoes (1 1/2 lb)
- 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
- 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