A quick improvised lunch with chickpeas, couscous and pork. Recipe below.
Last weekend was action-packed, even by our standards. On top of all the standard issue weekend errands and household stuff, we were preparing for an upcoming camping trip [although not nearly enough]. Marion was attending a four-day convention that had me shuttling back and forth to McCormick Place at odd hours—well, and joining her and other attendees for impromptu cocktails. Friday night found our living and dining rooms converted to dorms for four nice young men from Michigan who were attending Lollapalooza.
Oh. And Sunday afternoon, we managed to make a small contribution to the record-breaking $70.2 million the amazingly exciting Bourne Ultimatum took in over the weekend.
In the midst of all this, it was hard enough to even schedule meals, let alone get them on the table. Friday night I expected to be fending for myself, but suddenly had both Marion and daughter Laurel at home. So after a smash-and-grab run to the grocery store, I threw together a quick dinner—sautéed pork chops with bowtie pasta and mushrooms in a brandy sauce and a salad on the side. Must have been okay. We inhaled it.
Early Saturday afternoon, the polite young Michiganders grabbed their backpacks and with a final thanks, headed back to the Eastern Time Zone. Suddenly, it was just Laurel and me, and we were hungry. We had a passel of errands to run, so I’ll admit my first thought was some kind of fast food take-out. But we do more of that than I care for already, so I decided to see just how fast I could throw something together with what we had on hand.
I had recently made a nice, spicy side dish based on something I’d seen at Toni’s blog Daily Bread Journal. She had combined couscous with chickpeas [or garbanzo beans, as she called them], along with some veggies and spices, into a hearty backdrop for leftover osso buco. I had always treated couscous as a standalone side dish, enhanced with parsley or arugula or sautéed garlic, perhaps, but strictly a solo act. The idea of casting couscous in a supporting role was a revelation to me.
My version of Toni’s dish, made with onion, garlic, a jalapeño pepper and cumin, sounded like a good starting point. So I grabbed a can of chickpeas and some couscous from the pantry, then raided the fridge. Onion, check. Garlic, check. While failing to find the jalapeño pepper that I’m sure is still lurking there, I uncovered a small zucchini and half a red bell pepper. This was beginning to sound interesting. Then I remembered the lone uncooked pork chop, left over from the four pack bought for the previous night’s dinner. Cayenne pepper stood in for the fugitive jalapeño. Here’s how all that became lunch.
I’ve written all this up as a recipe, but it really should be viewed as more of a thought starter as you raid your own pantry and fridge. That said, should you follow it exactly, you’ll come up with a quick, hearty, satisfying lunch for two.
Terry’s Fridge Raid Lunch
Serves 2
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 medium zucchini, sliced in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 boneless pork chop, 5 to 6 ounces, cut into bite-sized slices
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper [or to taste—see Kitchen Notes]
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/3 cup uncooked couscous [see Kitchen Notes]
salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Heat a large skillet over a medium flame. When the pan is hot, add oil, then onion, zucchini, red bell pepper and sliced pork. Toss to combine and cook, stirring occasionally, ’til vegetables are tender crisp and pork is nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and cayenne pepper and stir to combine. Add chickpeas and stir. Cook until chickpeas are warmed through, about a minute.
Meanwhile, cook couscous. Bring a little over 1/3 cup of water to boil. Turn off heat. Salt water and stir in couscous. Cover pan and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Fluff couscous with fork and add it to the chickpea mixture in the skillet. Stir to combine, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Kitchen Notes
The subjectivity of spiciness. When it comes to spices, I think of my heat tolerance level as medium. So I was stunned and amazed at how many of the bloggers who attended a dinner during the BlogHer conference found the food at Lao Sze Chuan reallyreallyreally spicy. Including Nupur, who grew up in Kolhapur, a city in southern India, but still proclaimed it to be “probably the hottest food I have ever eaten in my life, and definitely the hottest food I have ever eaten in North America.” So if you’re not sure about your heat tolerance level, start with 1/4 teaspoon or less of the cayenne pepper, then taste it. You can always add more. Cumin is more about flavor than heat, so don’t be overly cautious with this spice.
Couscous. Ann over at A Chicken in Every Granny Cart has sung the praises of slow-cooked couscous—usually steamed over some fragrant stew—more than once. I promise, Ann, I really will try it sometime. But the quick stuff was perfect for this lunch, particularly in its non-starring role.
Also this week in Blue Kitchen
Eggs need a new press agent. Turns out that, just like chocolate and wine, they really are good for you. Find out why the cholesterol in eggs isn’t the problem you think it is at WTF? Random food for thought.
I love Ella. Give a listen to the jazz vocalist who won my jazz-vocalist-hating heart, at What’s on the kitchen boombox?
lol! I’m so nervous about people trying the slow-cooked couscous since the one other person that tried it had a hard time with it… but I think if you think of it like an Ella song, work with the couscous, love the couscous, serenade the couscous, it should work out alright! This quick dish sounds lovely! Have fun camping!
In our house we call these kinds of dishes “fridge dump.” They’re always the best things, and never the same twice. And for some reason, our fridge dumps are almost always on Sunday nights.
Beautiful job, Terry! Love the whole approach, of course, because it’s the way I learned to cook. Bob taught me to open the fridge, look inside, and build your meal from there. It’s a principle that’s never let me down. Just like Ella’s genius…
Thanks for the mention, and have a great time camping!!
I first tried couscous not too long ago, Terry, and I did because my friend Valentina (from the blog “Trem Bom”) kept telling me how wonderful it was and how much I’d love it. And I did love it.
I really like the way things turned out here – a delicious dish created like that deserves a lot of praising!
Terry — (and Ann) — I too tried the slow-cooked couscous. I was so hungry and impatient that I got totally annoyed with it. Here is the problem with cooking straight after work! I’m going to try it again on a weekend when I have time (and a full stomach) on my side. So see Ann.. the recipe worked out well, it was just my impatience to blame.
Anyway.. I have loaded up leftover couscous with leftover roasted vegetables (especially roasted cherry tomatoes!) and it was so good I wondered why I didn’t do that more often.
Terry, I appreciate your quick meals this week. What I adored is the charming story in “What’s on the Boombox.” What a sweet glimpse into a sweet family interlude.
By the way, I, too, read about the health benefits of dark chocolate and immediately got some smothered around almonds (which someone told me were good, too). Yumm. That’s the way I want my vitamins!
Yeah, Ann—the pressure’s on now! Actually, I’m sure it will be quite delicious when I finally try it.
Lydia—What a colorful name for a cooking adventure! It’s things like that that test a cook’s prowess—not just following a recipe.
Toni—You’re welcome. And thank you for the original inspiration.
Patricia—Try chopping up some parsley and tossing that and a tablespoon or so of olive oil with cooked couscous. A simple, delicious side.
Andrea—I find that a constant low-level hunger comes with food blogging too. Your roasted vegetables tossed with couscous sounds like something else I’m going to have to try.
Carolyn—Yeah, almonds [and nuts in general] are good for you. They’re also loaded with calories, unfortunately, so moderation is key. But now I want some of those dark chocolate-covered almonds. Dang.
Everyone—As I said [and Ann and Toni mentioned too], we’re going camping for a few days. Be back at Blue Kitchen next week.
hey there. dontcha just love when you make an unexpected fabulous meal out of what’s laying around? at first that dish looked like sesame chicken or something until i read the post. then it all came together and looked like exactly what it was! delicious!
i was just in chicago and well i didn’t know you were from chicago. i need to pay better attention. next time i am so getting recommendations from you. i wish i’d gone to the cupcake place – i love those little individual cakey things…
Those here’s-what-I-have-on-hand-what-can-I-do-with-it? meals are all about creativity and I agree that they’re often the best. Of course, getting lots of ideas by reading lots of foodblogs helps when you’re called on to be creative.
It certainly makes me take dietary recommendations with a grain of salt (heh! so to speak) when one moment a food is public enemy number one and the next moment it turns out that, hey, this stuff really is good for you after all. Of course, when I hear that something like dark chocolate is good for you I am SO following that dietary recommendation.
Terry, serving couscous with chickpea, courgettes is just the way we have it here. I don’t use pork, as we don’t eat it, but use lamb instead with parsnip, tomatoes, celery, onions, cumin and saffron and steaming it like Ann does. It is superb. Next time, try to top the dish when serving it with a tsp of harissa. Yum.
Claudia and Julie—For me, an added bonus of these kinds of meals is the smug feeling you get when you really do use up those leftovers in the fridge and don’t let them go to waste.
Rose—Lamb sounds perfect for a dish like this! Totally in keeping with the Mediterranean/Middle Eastern tone set by the couscous and chickpeas.
That looks really good. I made Taboulé using couscous and I let the juice of the vegetables, olive oil and lemon juice cooked the couscous instead of cooking it using water. 🙂