Skip to main content
Epicurious
Bon Appétit

Simple Vegetable Couscous

1.9

(2)

With such hearty vegetables, this can easily be served as a meatless main course.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    8 To 10 Side-Dish Servings

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 large turnip, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 medium zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch-thick rounds
3 celery stalks, cut into 3/4-inch lengths
2 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
3 medium tomatoes, halved, seeded, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
4 1/2 cups canned vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups couscous (about 24 ounces)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring water to boil in heavy large Dutch oven over high heat. Mix in paprika and cumin; season lightly with salt and pepper. Add turnip and carrot. Cover and cook 2 minutes. add zucchini, celery and potatoes. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes. Cook uncovered until tomatoes soften, about 2 minutes. Drain vegetable, reserving cooking liquid. Transfer vegetables to medium bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Return cooking liquid to same pot and boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, bring 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth and oil to boil in heavy large skillet. Mix in couscous; cover skillet. Remove from heat and let stand until couscous softens and absorbs broth, about 10 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork. Season with salt and pepper.

    Step 3

    Mound couscous on large platter. Top with vegetables. Drizzle sauce over.

TagsCouscousPastaTurnipRoot VegetableVegetableZucchiniSquashCeleryPotatoTomatoMainDinnerDairy FreeNut FreeVegetarianVeganWeeknight MealsOne-Pot MealsSimmerDutch OvenBon Appétit
Read More
Charred Vegetable Ragù
This sauce is slightly magical. The texture cloaks pasta much like a traditional meat sauce does, and the flavors are deep and rich, but it’s actually vegan!
Gigante Beans With Seaweed Salmoriglio
Salmoriglio is a Mediterranean sauce with herbs, garlic, and olive oil. In this version, kelp is used as the base of the sauce.
Smothered Italian Sausage
This is what I call a fridge-eater recipe. The key here is getting a nice sear on the sausage and cooking the tomato down until it coats the sausage and vegetables well.
Caramelized Onion Pasta
Turn humble onions into this thrifty yet luxe pasta dinner.
Pasta Alla Mezcal
This marinara sauce is great tossed with any pasta for a quick and easy weeknight dinner that will leave you thinking, “Why didn’t anyone try this sooner?”
Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Spaghetti)
Spaghetti is a common variation in modern Thai cooking. It’s so easy to work with and absorbs the garlicky, spicy notes of pad kee mao well.
Vodka Gochujang Pasta
This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.
Sofrito Bolognese
An ex-boyfriend’s mom—who emigrated from Colombia—made the best meat sauce—she would fry sofrito for the base and simply add cooked ground beef, sazón, and jarred tomato sauce. My version is a bit more bougie—it calls for caramelized tomato paste and white wine—but the result is just as good.