A few weekends ago, Jeff and I headed out to Lexington to pick up some tickets from his uncle, and we decided to stop at Wilson Farm since we were in the area. I'd only been to Wilson Farm a couple other times back in the fall and loved it there. Apparently everyone else loves it too because it's been crowded every time I've gone -- and this time was no exception.
It's a little different in the spring. The bins of pumpkins and gourds are replaced by potted plants and trees ready to be taken home and planted. (It made me wish even more that we had a yard.) Once we wove our way through the gorgeous spring flowers, we shopped mostly for produce, getting salad items and fruit, and then wandered over to the meat section and picked out some pork chops, chicken breasts, and steak to get us through dinners that week.
Then I started focusing on lunches. I like taking interesting dishes for lunch as opposed to just sandwiches and salads, so when I saw a package of white, orange, and purple cauliflower, I was inspired to incorporate it into a flavorful lunch dish.
When I noticed some tri-color Israeli (or pearl) couscous, the cauliflower plan morphed into a cauliflower couscous recipe.
I grabbed fresh spinach, shallots, and some feta and spinach chicken sausage to round out the meal.
Tri-Color Cauliflower And Couscous
Ingredients
3/4 pound tri-color cauliflower florets, chopped
1 cup tri-color pearl couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth, plus 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more as necessary
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 spinach and feta chicken sausages, thinly sliced
2 cups spinach
Salt and pepper
Preparation
Fill a medium saucepan with about 1 inch of water, and set a steaming basket in the pan. Add the cauliflower, cover the pan, bring the water to a boil, and steam cauliflower, 5 to 7 minutes. Set aside.
In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/4 cups chicken broth to a boil. Add the couscous, and cover and cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute shallots for about 2 minutes.
Add chicken sausage slices, and saute until brown, stirring and turning while cooking.
Lower heat to medium, and stir in cauliflower, and couscous. If needed, add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup chicken broth to keep everything from sticking.
Add the spinach, and cover and cook on low heat until spinach starts to wilt.
Stir the spinach into the mixture.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
I separated the cauliflower couscous into four containers, so I could take it to work for lunch that week. It rewarms nicely in the microwave.
Have you ever seen something while food shopping that inspires you to suddenly plan a whole meal around it?