Couscous has never been something that I could eat regularly. Growing up, my mom would make it every now and then, but I had never made it. Recently, I had the craving for couscous and acted in it. Only upon standing in my kitchen and googling “how to cook couscous” did I realize how damn easy it is to make. I think that moving forward, due to how easy it is to make, it will play a much more prominent role in my diet. 

This recipe has nice acidic undertones from orange and lemon juice with a smokey, spicy flavour from the roasted chickpeas. As always, I recommend using homemade chickpeas but realize for others the extra effort is not justifiable. This recipe will go just fine with canned chickpeas and makes an easy, healthy weeknight dinner. Let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

Chickpeas

• 2 cans of chickpeas, drained (3 cups total)
• 1 ½ tsp hot smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Couscous

• 200g whole wheat couscous
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 ½ cup vegetable broth
• 1 tsp orange zest
• Juice of one orange
• ½ a bunch mint, chopped
• 1 shallot, minced

Kale

• 2 bunches of curly kale, washed and stems removed
• 2 shallots, diced
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. In a medium heat safe bowl, combine chickpeas, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, olive oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until chickpeas are evenly coated in oil and spices. Place on a lined baking sheet and roast for 20 to 22 minutes.
2. Weigh out the couscous in the same medium heat safe bowl. Add the olive oil into the couscous and massage the oil into couscous to evenly coat every morsel. Bring your vegetable broth to a boil and pour over the couscous. Cover the bowl and let rest for 5 minutes. 
3. Once the 5 minutes is up, fluff the couscous with a fork. Add the orange zest and juice, the mint and shallot. Fluff again, cover and set aside.
4. Heat a large non-stick pan on medium heat and add in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Once hot, add in the shallots and the garlic. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes and add in the kale. All your kale may not fit in the pan at once, that’s ok, add in more as the first batch begins to wilt. Add in a couple pinches of salt and cook covered, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 6 minutes. Then cook for an additional 5 to 6 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.
5. With all ingredients ready, form your bowl. Start with a layer of couscous, then add on the chickpeas and finely top with the kale and a drizzle of olive oil, enjoy!