{"id":5997,"date":"2014-07-24T17:42:09","date_gmt":"2014-07-25T00:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mayabugs.com\/blog\/?p=5997"},"modified":"2014-07-28T13:00:01","modified_gmt":"2014-07-28T20:00:01","slug":"israeli-couscous-w-figs-hazelnuts-feta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mayabugs.com\/blog\/israeli-couscous-w-figs-hazelnuts-feta\/","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Couscous w\/ Figs, Hazelnuts & Feta"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Israeli<\/a><\/p>\n

While hiking Runyan<\/a>\u00a0a while back it dawned on me that I had a box of Israeli couscous in the cupboard that I could make for lunch! I get these random ingredients that take up space in the cupboard and it’s great when I’m finally in the mood for them \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

I have had Israeli couscous out, but never at home. I love it! I like it much better than normal couscous actually. Little chewy balls. My husband compared it to sabudana (pearl tapioca).<\/p>\n

I found this fantastic recipe from Hunger and Sauce<\/a> on Pinterest. The coucous is paired with hazelnuts, figs and pomegranate molasses. Back when I made this (I’m a little behind on posting) there were no fresh figs so I used dried. So sad, they are everywhere now!<\/p>\n

I ended up having a couple of other random ingredients that were in the recipe (go figure): dukkah and pomegranate molasses. Dukkah<\/a>\"\"is an Egyption spice mix<\/a>\u00a0of nuts, seeds and spices. There is very little dukkah in this recipe so if I didn’t have a container from Trader Joe’s at home I would have skipped it. But you can’t skip the pomegranate molasses<\/a>! I had a bottle of pomegranate glaze from Trader Joe’s that is supposed to be fairly similar. I think they discontinued it, but you can find pomegranate molasses at a Middle Eastern Market. It is to die for. I can eat it by the spoon! Tart, but caramely, and oh it is just so hard to describe!<\/p>\n

1 1\/3 cup Israeli couscous
\n1\/3 cup hazelnuts
\n1\/2 teaspoon olive oil
\n2 teaspoon dukkah<\/a>\"\" (optional)
\n1 large onion (preferrable red, I only had yellow) cut into chunks
\n8 garlic cloves unpeeled
\n3 figs sliced (fresh preferred, I could only find dried!)
\n1 lemon cut in half
\n2 tablespoons olive oil
\n2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
\nSalt
\n1\/2 cup fresh mint
\n4 ounces feta cut into little squares<\/p>\n

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  1. Cook couscous according to package directions (I used a box from Trader Joe’s – 1 1\/3 cup couscous toasted in a little olive oil, add 1 3\/4 cup water or vegetable broth, bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 12 minutes).<\/li>\n
  2. Peel the hazelnuts: boil in 1 cup of water and 1 1\/2 tablespoon baking soda for 3 minutes, then drain and rub off the peel. Toss with olive oil and dukkah and roast for 5 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Let cool completely.<\/li>\n
  3. Toss the onions, garlic, figs and lemons with the olive oil, pomegranate molasses and salt and roast for 15 minutes in a 400 degree oven. If using dried figs, soak in boiling water for a few minutes, slice and add during the last 5 minutes of roasting. Once cool enough to touch, peel the garlic.<\/li>\n
  4. Toss the couscous with the onion mixture, the roasted hazelnuts, the mint and the feta. Enjoy!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n