Spicy Tomato Couscous

I'm always looking for one-pot dishes that combine flavor, spice and nutrition. I am never in the mood for laboring 3 separate dishes on weeknights when I would rather curl up under a stone. Soups are my favorites for this reason. You just wash and chop and throw in a bunch of vegetables and spices and let the whole thing simmer. They are also immensely comforting, plus fast enough to gulp down and rush to other things. 

This is a dish I put together to use up some of the couscous in my pantry. The original recipe is a couscous soup, but I adapted it to be something less soupy and more "mealy". This is sort of like couscous kichidi/upma.

Inspired and adapted from this recipe

Ingredients (serves 5-6):

1. 1 large onion, finely chopped
2. 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3. 3 sticks of celery, chopped
4. 4 cloves of garlic 
5. 1 teaspoon chilli powder
6. 1 teaspoon coriander powder
7. 1 teaspoon cumin powder
8. 1 - 1.5 teaspoons salt
9. 3 tablespoons tomato paste
10. 3 tomatoes, finely chopped
11. 4 cups (32 fl. oz) vegetable stock
12. 1 can chickpeas, rinsed (1.5 cups cooked chickpeas)
13. 1.5 cups uncooked couscous 
14. 3 scallions, finely chopped
15. 1 tablespoon olive oil 

 Preparation:

1. Crush/grind together 4 cloves of garlic, a teaspoon (or more) of chilli powder and coriander powder. Reserve the paste to be added later.
2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large sauce-pan/dutch oven. When the oil is warm, add the chopped onion and saute on medium heat until translucent. 
3. Then add the carrots and celery and saute. Close the pan and continue to cook for 5 minutes until the vegetables are slightly tender. 
4. Add the prepared spice paste and cumin powder and stir to combine everything. Then add the tomatoes and saute for 5 minutes. 
5. When tomatoes begin to soften, add the tomato paste and mix everything. Pour in the vegetable stock and chickpeas and give everything a stir. Reduce the heat to low, close the lid and let the whole thing simmer for 20-30 minutes until the vegetables are cooked. 
6. Finally add the couscous, stir everything and remove the pan from heat and keep it closed for 5 minutes until the couscous is completely cooked. 
7. After 5 minutes, check if the couscous is done (it should be done). Taste and adjust for seasonings. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve. 

 This is a hearty, spicy meal. Perfect for weeknights.