Pearl Couscous With Creamy Feta and Chickpeas

By Melissa Clark

Pearl Couscous With Creamy Feta and Chickpeas
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
5(7,201)
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.

Featured in: Taking Comfort in Couscous

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1pint grape tomatoes, halved
  • ¼cup sliced scallions
  • 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 1tablespoon balsamic vinegar, plus more for serving
  • 2fat garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
  • 1½teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • ½teaspoon black pepper, plus more for serving
  • 3oregano, rosemary or sage sprigs
  • 2cups vegetable stock or water
  • ⅓cup chopped cilantro, dill or parsley, plus more for serving
  • ½teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (from ½ lemon)
  • ¾teaspoon ground cumin
  • 8ounces pearl couscous (1½ cups)
  • 1(15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1cup feta, crumbled (about 4 ounces)
  • ⅓cup freshly grated Parmesan (1½ ounces)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

612 calories; 20 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 8 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 84 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 988 milligrams sodium

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 3/4ths 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
7,201 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.

Margaret

I have made this multiple times with pearl couscous (it was great!) and tried farro this time to get a whole grain in there. I used the regular kind, not the 10-minute quick-cooking kind. Mods: 8oz farro (a bit shy of 1 1/4 c) Keep stock volume and seasonings the same Bake an extra 10-15 minutes before adding feta

TJK

Something seems off here - I attempted to make as written but the 1.5 c of cous cous and can of chickpeas would never fit in the 9x9 pan with tomatoes. Did others have this issue?

Carly

This is a real winner. A few modifications to make it sing - double the garlic, swap scallions for shallots, add spinach when the feta goes in. SO GOOD.

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