Israeli Couscous Salad

I made this recipe last night for the mister and a guest and it was so easy and yummy. Israeli couscous are just like regular couscous except they're much larger and have this great chewy texture. Almost every Israeli couscous recipe requires that you do a little sauteeing before you boil them to optimize the texture.

You can find the original recipe here, but below is my tweaked version. I served this alongside some fried eggplant topped with crumbled feta cheese.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (1-pound) box Israeli couscous
3 cups veggie broth
2 lemons, juiced
1 lemon, zested
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup dried cranberries
small package slivered almonds, toasted

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, warm 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the couscous and cook until toasted and lightly browned, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Carefully add the veggie broth, and the juice of 1 lemon, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the couscous is tender, but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the couscous, if needed.

In a large bowl, toss the cooked couscous with the remaining olive oil, remaining lemon juice, zest, salt, and pepper and let cool.

Once the couscous is room temperature, add the fresh herbs, and dried cranberries. Toss to combine and serve with toasted slivered almonds on top.

Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

This filling Italian dish is easy-peasy and great if you have to feed some folks and are short on time.  My version was made with fresh spinach, but to greatly cut down on prep time, I'd just go with frozen chopped...it'll be even easier to make.

You will need:

2 pounds fresh spinach (or 2 packages frozen)

1.5 cups ricotta cheese

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for on top

3 eggs, beaten

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

~1 cup flour

8 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  Cook that spinach down!  Put it in a pot with a little oil until it wilts down to nuttin' (about 5-7 minutes).  Then let it cool--you can pour cold water on it if you're impatient like me but then step two is more difficult.

2.  Squeeze the heck out of the spinach until it's as dry as possible.  Then put it in a blender or food processor and chop it up good. (All of this can be avoided if you use chopped frozen spinach).

3. Add the spinach to a large bowl along with ricotta, parmesan, beaten eggs, and nutmeg.  Season with salt and pepper, then combine.  Then slowly add flour until the mixture becomes a soft dough (it took me a little less than a cup).

4.  Roll the dough into little gnocchis and lightly dust with flour.  Then place in a pot of salted boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the gnocchis float to the surface.

5.  Add hot gnocchis to a bowl, top with melted butter and some fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a good cracking of fresh pepper and voila!  Fluffs of spinach in every bite!