Cous Cous with Ground Meat, Artichokes and a Tahini-Lemon Drizzle

Healthy and Delicious Cous Cous

This recipe is one of my favorites for when I want to eat something healthy but still delicious. I’ll explain to you how I make the classic one, but at the end of the recipe you will find an amazing swap that will make this recipe easily vegan.

Ingredients

Time needed: 30 minutes total

Ingredients for 2 servings:

• 60 g couscous
• 140 g ground meat (I choose veal, but you can choose the one you prefer. I suggest using a lean one, so you will be able to enjoy all the flavors)
• 100 g artichokes (I used the frozen ones as they are tough to clean. If you buy them fresh, I suggest still choosing pre-cleaned ones. It will be the same; you just need a longer cooking time)
• 120g mushrooms (porcini, chiodini or cremini work amazing in this recipe)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tsp EVO oil
• 2 bay leaves
• Parsley to taste
• 2 tsp soy sauce

Dressing:

• Half a lemon
• 2 tsp tahini sauce
• A pinch of black pepper

Instructions

This recipe is really easy to make, but so delicious.

Let’s start by putting the EVO oil in the pan along with the bay leaves, parsley, a clove of garlic, and any other aromatics you want to add (I suggest not adding any more because we don’t want to cover the meat flavor, but if you choose the beef ground meat, black pepper and rosemary work amazingly).

Trick 1: when you have your aromatics as leaves, wash them under water and break them with your hands (you can clearly see it in the picture). This will release all the aromatic oil and will also allow you to take them out before serving. It is not the same if you chop them.

Slice mushrooms and artichokes and, when the garlic starts to brown, add them to the pan. Stir here for a couple of minutes. Those are both veggies that hold a lot of water, so we want to take it all out before adding more.

When the veggies will not release more water and will start browning, add the ground meat. The pan must be really hot, and the stove must be on medium at this point. We want to hear the sizzle.

Based on the kind of meat you’ve chosen, you will have different times to cook, and it will react differently. The more the meat holds fat, the more you will need to cook. For the veal, I cooked everything together for 10 to 15 mins, stirring frequently because we don’t want it to stick to the pan.

Trick 2: If you see your veggies still raw or everything is getting too dry, you can add water, but never add too much. Keep adding water just to cover the bottom of the pan, as we don’t want to lose the crispiness we are making.

Trick 3: This is something mandatory in my family (that I don’t do, but I’ll share it with you). Add one glass of red wine here, with the stove on high, and deglaze. It will give an amazing flavor and consistency to the whole recipe, but remember to never lower the stove until you see all the wine deglazed and you can’t smell it anymore.

If not using wine like me, just deglaze with soy sauce and add salt (always remember to taste here, to check salt and see if you want to add something more!). Do this step if you are using wine too.

Turn off the stove and let it sit while we prepare the couscous. It takes just a couple of minutes.

Boil the water (in any way you prefer: microwave, kettle, pot; it doesn’t matter, as couscous doesn’t cook on the stove). For the amount of water, there is no weight; you need to add as much water as your couscous (not weight but volume!). After boiling, put in a bowl and add the couscous, cover it, and let it sit for 3 to 5 mins, depending on the one you’ve chosen.

Mix everything together, and enjoy it!

If you want to add creaminess and boost acid flavor (and Vitamin C intake), mix 2 tsp of tahini, half a lemon, and a bit of black pepper, and drizzle on top.

Roberta Di Rosa

Cous Cous with Ground Meat, Artichokes and Tahini-Lemon Drizzle

A quick cous cous dish featuring ground meat, artichokes, and mushrooms, finished with a creamy tahini-lemon dressing.

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Servings: 2 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 60 g cous cous
• 140 g ground meat veal suggested, or preferred lean meat
• 100 g artichokes frozen, or fresh pre-cleaned
• 120 g mushrooms porcini, chiodini or cremini
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tsp EVO oil
• 2 bay leaves
• to taste parsley
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 0.5 lemon
• 2 tsp tahini sauce
• 1 pinch black pepper
• as needed water for the pan if getting too dry
• 1 glass red wine optional
• to taste salt
• as needed water equal volume to cous cous

Method

 

1. Put the EVO oil in a pan along with the bay leaves, parsley, clove of garlic, and any other aromatics.
2. If using whole leaves, wash them and break them with your hands to release the aromatic oils.
3. Slice the mushrooms and artichokes. When the garlic starts to brown, add them to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes.
4. Once the veggies stop releasing water and start browning, add the ground meat. Ensure the pan is hot and the stove is on medium so it sizzles.
5. Cook everything together for 10 to 15 minutes (for veal), stirring to prevent sticking.
6. If the mixture gets too dry, add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.
7. Optional: Add one glass of red wine with the stove on high to deglaze. Do not lower the heat until the wine has completely evaporated.
8. Deglaze with soy sauce and add salt to taste.
9. Turn off the stove and let the pan sit.
10. Boil an amount of water equal in volume to your cous cous.
11. Pour the boiling water into a bowl, add the cous cous, cover, and let it sit for 3 to 5 minutes.
12. Mix the cous cous together with the meat and vegetable mixture.
13. Mix the tahini, half a lemon, and a pinch of black pepper together, and drizzle on top of the dish.

Notes

Vegan trick: this recipe is so easy to become vegan, just switch the ground meat with either ground dehydrated soy (TVP) or crumbled tempeh, they both work amazing!

Total time: 30 minutes.