baby gourmet: israeli couscous with matsutake mushrooms

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12.06.2011

baby gourmet: israeli couscous with matsutake mushrooms

Above: the Gravy Baby’s lunch on Saturday; don’t worry, I transferred it to a toddler-safe plastic plate before serving

The Gravy Baby is going through a growth spurt right now, which basically means that he eats everything in sight and more of it, immediately, right this second. If those cooking competitions on TV want to really turn up the pressure on their contestants, I think they should try putting a screaming toddler in the room and making them come up with a meal that will calm the kid down.

I made this couscous in about 15 minutes for lunch on Saturday, during just one of those epic meltdowns. I keep a stock of Israeli couscous made by Near East on hand for just such occasions; their boxes are small and easy to make in 10-12 minutes. Instead of boiling in water according to the package directions, I use a little low-sodium chicken stock to impart some extra flavor into the couscous. While the couscous cooks, I dice up whatever vegetables we have on hand to add to the couscous once it’s done. On this particular day, I happened to have some young broccolini and matsutake mushrooms, courtesy of my Aunt Jenny’s mushroom guy and some eager Fed’exing on my aunt’s part. Along with some diced tomatoes and a splash of lemon juice and olive oil, the Gravy Baby gobbled this lunch right up:

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How can I be sure that he loved this meal? Let’s see:

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Yup, I think that’s a go.

A simple recipe, after the jump.

baby gourmet: israeli couscous with matsutake mushrooms

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 3-4

An easy weekend lunch that’s a kid-pleaser, too.

Ingredients

1 package Near East pearled couscous
1 small Roma tomato, diced
2 baby portobello mushrooms (I used matsutake, but they’re insanely expensive unless you have a wacky aunt who gifts them to you every Thanksgiving), washed and chopped
1 cup fresh broccolini or broccoli, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Prepare couscous according to package directions, substituting 1 cup of water with 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth.
While couscous is cooking, boil or steam broccolini and mushrooms in a separate pot (I simmered the broccolini and mushrooms the night before).
When liquid for couscous has been almost completely absorbed, remove from heat and add vegetables; cover and let sit 5 minutes.
Toss with a fork and add lemon juice and olive oil.
Season to taste and serve when cool. Makes great leftover meals that can be frozen, too.