Cooking During Pandemic 2: Couscous with Vegetables

Couscous with Vegetables (serves 4)

I usually find plain couscous to be dry and uninteresting. This version which is a little closer to the North African original is more substantial and quite tasty.

Couscous 3 cups
Chick peas 1 cup
Cherry tomatoes 1/2 lb.
Onion chopped, one half
Zucchini (green) 1; sliced to a 1/4 inch
Raisins 1/2 cup
Spices: nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, black pepper 1/4 tps each
Butter/Olive Oil: 4 tbps

Set oven to 400 F.  Peel, finely chop and fry onion in oil for 2-3 minutes until transleucent. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. In a large-diameter saucepan bring 3.5 cups of water to the boil. Stir in the 3 cups of couscous until water absorbed. Add the chick peas, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, cooked onions and raisins.  Stir the mixture, season generously with salt, and add additional 1/2 water. Cover saucepan and place in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Finally add the ground spices and butter/olive oil and stir into couscous. If dish too dry add another 1/2 cup of water.

Variations: Other vegetables can be added, instead of, or in addition to, those listed above, such as chopped cabbage, artichoke hearts, carrots.