Summer Vegetable Couscous With Spicy Pesto

Hearty but not heavy, this stew uses lots of summer vegetables available from the farmers' market. It’s a little complicated to put together, but both the vegetable stew and the couscous can be made in advance, even a day ahead, without suffering. (And if you are short on time, you can skip Step 1 — cooking the dried chickpeas — and use 2 cups canned chickpeas instead.) In season, look for other varieties of sweet peppers besides conventional bell peppers, and colorful tomatoes and onions as well. Even though the directions on most packaged couscous claim it can be cooked in less than 10 minutes, taking the time to steam it further makes it lighter and more digestible. Featured in: A Couscous For The (Not Quite) End Of Summer.

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Ready in 1h
by cookingrecipes

Ingredients

1 cup dried chickpeas soaked overnight in cold water

1 small onion stuck with 2 cloves

1 bay leaf

A short piece of cinnamon stick

1 medium carrot peeled

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large red onion cut in 1/2-inch-thick slices

2 teaspoons grated or minced garlic

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon pimentón or paprika

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon toasted ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon toasted ground coriander

2 cups sweet peppers (such as red and yellow bell cubanelle, gypsy or corno di toro), cut in 1-inch cubes

4 cups zucchini cut in 1-inch cubes

2 cups chopped ripe tomato

1/2 pound okra left whole

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups corn kernels (from about 3 large ears)

Salt and pepper

2 cups couscous

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch of crumbled saffron (optional)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

4 cups roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems only

1 or 2 serrano chiles roughly chopped, to taste

1 smashed garlic clove

1/2 teaspoon toasted ground cumin

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Juice of 1 lime


Directions

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