Funky Tabbouleh

B and I recently dined a little farm-to-table place before an evening at the theater.  Something like this was served in lieu of pre-meal bread - just about a tablespoon of it to share with 2 little demitasse spoons.  It was love at first bite, so we focused most of our energy on figuring out all the flavors and kinda forgot to enjoy it after that first bite.  The dish below is my first pass at it - tastes great, but check back for revisions once in a while.

Yield: 6 sides / first course

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

3/4 c. dried Israeli couscous, cooked per package directions with a crushed garlic clove added

1 can unsalted chick peas, drained or 1.5 cups soaked, cooked dry ones...a MUCH better end result

2 T minced fresh mint

6-10 olives, minced*

1-2 T sun dried tomatoes in oil, minced

2 T carrot minced or grated

1-2 T golden raisins 

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

2 T olive oil

2 clove garlic, minced

1/2 fresh lemon, juiced and zested a bit

something nutty like 1/4 tsp sesame oil, a bit of tahini, 2 T toasted walnuts or cashews finely chopped, 1 T toasted sesame seeds, or toasted pine nuts

Method:

While couscous is still warm, toss everything together, season with s&p, taste, adjust oil and lemon as needed.  Serve warm or at room temp.

Alternatives: dice up quinoa spaghetti or minced cauliflower florets in lieu of couscous for a gluten free option, add feta cheese to bulk it up, replace carrots and raisins with cucumber and radish in the summer.

Serving ideas: 

• warm through, fill a roasted eggplant half, top with feta and broil
• use as a bed for any roasted meats or nutty fish like trout
• top a field greens salad for healthy hearty lunch
• butterfly a flank steak or lamb shoulder, spread with tabbouleh, roll and roast

*Helpful Hints
Olives - not canned black olives, nice Mediterranean olives. I rolled a few out of a jar of "mixed greek olives," I would recommend kalamatas or nice fat green olives if you're not sure, but just use what you like.