Pearl Couscous With Creamy Feta and Chickpeas

By Melissa Clark

Published January 22, 2019

  • Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
5(7,939)
Comments
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Baking pearl couscous with chickpeas, roasted tomatoes and garlic results in a one-pan vegetarian meal that’s cozy and very savory, especially if you use a flavorful stock for cooking. Soft and almost porridgelike in texture, it satisfies the same urge as polenta or risotto. Lemon zest and fresh herbs make it bright, while feta, added at the end, gives the whole thing a creamy richness. Save leftovers to bring to work for lunch the next day; they pack up perfectly. If you feel like you need more vegetables here to round out the meal, serve this on a bed of baby spinach, some of which will wilt on contact with the hot couscous.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

  • ¼ cup sliced scallions

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, plus more for serving

  • 2 fat garlic cloves, finely grated or minced

  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed

  • ½ teaspoon black pepper, plus more for serving

  • 3 oregano, rosemary or sage sprigs

  • 2 cups vegetable stock or water

  • ⅓ cup chopped cilantro, dill or parsley, plus more for serving

  • ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (from ½ lemon)

  • ¾ teaspoon ground cumin

  • 8 ounces pearl couscous (1 ½ cups)

  • 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

  • 1 cup feta, crumbled (about 4 ounces)

  • ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan (1 ½ ounces)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

84 grams carbs; 32 milligrams cholesterol; 612 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 20 grams fat; 14 grams fiber; 988 milligrams sodium; 25 grams protein; 7 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 450 degrees. In a 9-inch baking dish, cake pan or gratin dish, toss together tomatoes, scallions, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar, garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, pepper and oregano sprigs. Roast until tomatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    While tomatoes roast, heat the stock until it boils, then stir in remaining 1 teaspoon salt, adding more to taste. (You want a well-seasoned broth here to flavor the couscous.) Stir in cilantro, lemon zest and cumin.

  3. Step 3

    Remove tomatoes from oven and fold in couscous, chickpeas and hot stock mixture. Cover pan tightly with foil, and return to oven for 20 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Remove foil and fold in about ¾ths of the feta (save the rest for garnish) and Parmesan. Bake uncovered until feta starts to melt, another 5 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    To serve, pull out and discard herb sprigs if you like, and spoon couscous into bowls. Top with remaining feta, lots more herbs, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
7,939 user ratings
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Comments

Jimmy Mack

Oops. Step 2 doesn’t look complete. When do the couscous and chickpeas go into the stock?

Shoshannah

Made it tonight as written. Nice...but I think it would enjoy it more with the addition of some kalamata olives.

Alan

Thank you, Carol K., for your question on terminology. I went to my local market and searched in vain for "pearl couscous," ultimately deciding Israeli couscous would have to do, not realizing they are the same thing. Using the search engine on the NYTimes cooking site, you'll find three recipes for "pearl couscous" and 27 recipes for "Israeli couscous." I'd suggesting indexing all of these recipes with both names, to avoid this kind of confusion.

Kristen G

This is a repeat meatless meal in our house. You can easily adapt it to whatever you have on hand and it still comes out great. Definitely give it a go as written the first time through if you are able, but don’t be afraid to substitute if needed. I did not have any fresh herbs on hand tonight so I used dried, and added in some dried wild ramps for additional flavor. Didn’t have a lemon so I zested a lime. It still made a wonderful weeknight dinner!

Elizabeth

Yesterday was a warm day, and I had cooked couscous on hand, so I made a salad, using all these ingredients, and skipped the baking. Absolutely delicious combo of flavors.

Smith

Could anyone share make ahead suggestions for this recipe?

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