At first, my niece Gracie turned her nose up at this...and laughed when I told her it was couscous...she'd never heard of it before and said it looked like, "Grandma's fish-eye salad." She meant frog-eye salad which is made with ancini di pepe pasta, a very teensy, round pasta (frog-eye salad is supposed to be great but I cannot bring myself to eat anything that begins with the words frog-eye!) Couscous is not named after an amphibians body part nor is it really pasta, it's made from semolina and wheat flour but it's toasted rather than dried and has a bit of a nutty flavor. I love to use Israeli Couscous, also known as Pearl Couscous, it's bigger and as we all know, bigger is better, but couscous comes in smaller sizes, too. Gracie holds the title as the "smartest" in her famdamly but her title is now in jeopardy, not over couscous, but because when we were talking about places to go and see in SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, she said, "How far is it to the White House?" Her sister Callie, and I, stopped breathing...we stared at her and waited to see if she was joking...she was not...and then we burst out laughing...Umm, let's see, give or take a few hundred miles the White House is about THREE THOUSAND MILES away! Gracie had herself a good laugh, too, and then she ate couscous.
This is a great salad, with or without the tomatoes, but stuffing the tomatoes is just more fun. You can buy couscous from Whole Foods in the bulk foods area or in a box, Near East is brand that most grocery stores carry. And you can eat this as a hot or cold salad...either way it's dang good.
Little balls of goodness surrounded by shredded Parmesan cheese, bits of red and green onion and crispy bacon...need I say more? If you've got pine nuts, toss them into the mix, too, and then it's all drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil...
Hollow out a large beefstake tomato for each serving (serves 4) by cutting off top and then, using a grapefruit spoon, scoop out the sides, being careful not to poke through bottom. Fill those beautiful tomatoes with the couscous and you're ready to eat...oh maybe throw caution to the wind and place a sprig of parsley on top, then you'll be ready to eat!
Couscous Stuffed Tomatoes - Adapted from Redbook Magazine, June 2011
1 cup Israeli Couscous or 1 box (5 oz.) Near East Couscous, cooked according to package directions
4 large beefstake tomatoes, rinsed, dried and hollowed out
3 green onions, finely diced
2 tablespoon red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked until crisp or shredded prosciutto works great, too
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted, optional
3 tablespoons olive oil (or more if you like)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
springs of fresh basil or Italian parsley for garnish, optional
Put couscous in a medium pan and cover with an inch of water. Cook over medium-high heat until couscous is done, al dente, soft but with a bit of chew, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain and rinse. Meanwhile, fry bacon until crisp, drain on paper toweling. When bacon is cool to the touch, crumble. Prepare tomatoes by scooping out the seedy parts and discarding. Turn tomatoes upside to drain for a minute. Sprinkle inside of tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste.
In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and1/2 teaspoon each of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir in couscous, bacon, onions, Parmesan cheese and pine nuts, if using, and toss to combine. Spoon mixture into tomatoes. Garnish with fresh basil or Italian parsley, if desired.
