Summer Vegetable Couscous With Spicy Pesto Recipe (2024)

I think there is a tiny mixup here. The turmeric should be added to the stew, after the onions have softened and along with the garlic.
It should be the saffron that is added to couscous. The way to maximize flavor is to take 1/4 tsp of saffron and add it to 1/4 cup of water. Microwave for 15 seconds and leave on counter for 4 hrs, till it turns bright red. Mix this with the couscous prior to steaming.
The only time you add turmeric to couscous is if you cook it with vegetables.

Why do you steam the couscous?

In Israel, where I come from, couscous is steamed over the stew pot so it gets all the flavors.

It's a pity to miss out on the okra as it gives the broth an authentic African saveur. If your problem is the slimy nature of okra, you can salt it, cover with wine vinegar for half an hour or so, rinse and dry throughly. Cooked whole, this solves the slime issue. Roasting the vegetables? You're losing freshness (the vegetables in this stew cook for only 15 minutes) and natural texture. If you feel the roasting made a big difference, can I assume that you tried the original first?

In northern Africa couscous is prepared in a couscousière, a kind of steamer where a stew for the couscous simmers in the bottom and the couscous (semoule), having absorbed cold water and wrapped in a kitchen towel, steams in the vapour of the stew in the top. Several times during the cooking the couscous is rubbed by the cook between his hands. The result is light and fluffy couscous that, just by itself, is sublime. David's recipe tries to simulate this lengthly process.

Request
For ease of shopping and planning please provide weights for vegetables, here peppers, zucchini and tomatoes.
Thanks

Didn't care for the pesto; the cilantro was overbearing and masked all the other flavors (and I don't usually mind cilantro). I ate the leftovers without the pesto and enjoyed it much more. Also added a generous amount of feta, which worked well.

The perfect solution to the conundrum of what to serve at a late summer luncheon for vegan guests. I did the pesto in advance as well as some of the chopping, so throwing together the morning of was a snap. Some vegan recipes can be a little drab visually, but this one was stunning. (To ensure brightness, take care not to overcook). Steaming the couscous is worth the extra step. NYT’s “Best Gazpacho” makes a great starter to go with.

Absolutely delicious. I love when a vegetarian meal can feel this decadent. The cilantro I had went bad and I used my last lime yesterday, so this became a spicy arugula pesto with lemon. Would agree that 1/2 a cup of oil is more than enough, but if you use as much sauce as I do, you may want to double the recipe. I doubled the spices which may be a personal preference. Didn’t use any okra and didn’t miss it. Whatever you do, don’t skip the corn. That sweet crunch was very welcome.

Definitely halve the olive oil for the pesto!

Lots of work for so-so results.

The cilantro pesto is amazing and really makes the dish, IMO. Jalapeno peppers seemed fine (vs. serrano, which I could not find). The couscous was delicious prepared this way; I'd make it this way again. (Did not steam it tho.) Based on some notes below, I added the turmeric directly to the stew, not to the couscous. I used okra but only because I happened to have it; I think in pandemic times this could be adapted to whatever vegetables someone happened to have on hand. Summery, delicious meal!

Absolutely delicious. I love when a vegetarian meal can feel this decadent. The cilantro I had went bad and I used my last lime yesterday, so this became a spicy arugula pesto with lemon. Would agree that 1/2 a cup of oil is more than enough, but if you use as much sauce as I do, you may want to double the recipe. I doubled the spices which may be a personal preference. Didn’t use any okra and didn’t miss it. Whatever you do, don’t skip the corn. That sweet crunch was very welcome.

I found the spices weren’t flavourful enough, so I nearly doubled them

My partner loved this recipe! Great amount of spice and flavor. I didn’t have all the ingredients so I substituted farro for couscous and left out the peppers and okra. I also omitted some of the more extraneous steps. It’s a very forgiving recipe that lends itself to many variations. So delicious! I’ll definitely be making it again.

The perfect solution to the conundrum of what to serve at a late summer luncheon for vegan guests. I did the pesto in advance as well as some of the chopping, so throwing together the morning of was a snap. Some vegan recipes can be a little drab visually, but this one was stunning. (To ensure brightness, take care not to overcook). Steaming the couscous is worth the extra step. NYT’s “Best Gazpacho” makes a great starter to go with.

Replaced the okra with green beans and it was delicious! Also used a jalapeno instead of chiles because I had one on hand and I thought it was a good substitute.

Delicious, and with the addition of the cilantro sauce, very pretty. Would be wonderful for a vegetarian dinner party. I didn’t have okra so I subbed snow peas from our garden. Next time I’d like to serve with naan. Don’t forget to serve with lime halves, the juice really perks up the stew.

My entire family loved it. The pesto was excellent. Could double the quantity of pesto.

Didn't care for the pesto; the cilantro was overbearing and masked all the other flavors (and I don't usually mind cilantro). I ate the leftovers without the pesto and enjoyed it much more. Also added a generous amount of feta, which worked well.

Delicious! I used olive oil to cook the corn since I was serving it to vegan friends. Otherwise followed the recipe although next time I will try adding the turmeric to the stew and saffron to the couscous as was suggested.

Really yummy dish, but I made some adjustments. I only used 1/2 the amount of oil in the pesto and it came out just perfect. I also ended up removing about 2 cups of liquid after cooking the vegetables, so next time I would probably try it with just 1 1/4 cup liquid. Also used 2 tb. of tomato paste.

Substituted 1/2 cup quinoa for 1 cup of the couscous and precooked in the 3 cups water before adding to the corn and other 1 cup of couscous - tasted fine and added a bit more protein. Also reduced the amount of water added to the stew to 2 cups and it was plenty. Glad I took everyone's advice and reduced the oil for the pesto to 1/2 cup. Finally, substituted yellow squash for zucchini because that's what I had on hand. No bad for a vegan recipe. My husband liked it.

I had to take out two cups of the liquid after cooking the vegetables so next time will only use one cup in the first place. Also only used 1/2 cup of oil in the pesto, which seemed just fine.