Vegetarian Recipes

For those of my readers who are observant Catholics or Orthodox Christians who observe fasting/abstinence, I thought it would be fun to share good vegetarian or vegan recipes for Fridays, Lent, or other periods of fasting during the liturgical year.

This is a recipe I found at Katherine's blog, Gloria in Excelsis Deo. I had a feeling we would like it since it includes two of our favorite foods: couscous and black beans. Another bonus is that all the ingredients are things the baby can eat too. (Well, just about-- he hasn't had corn yet, but once he does...) It's made with chicken broth, but that could easily be swapped for vegetable broth if you are avoiding animal products all together.

I think this would also make a good side dish with roasted chicken.

This was also very quick to make. I had it completely assembled, in the fridge to chill, and the kitchen cleaned up in 30 minutes. Now that's my kind of meal!

Anyway, without further ado:

Black Bean and Couscous Salad

INGREDIENTS
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
8 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
salt and pepper to taste

**Note: I inadvertently used the last of my green onions the other day (didn't plan ahead!), so I substituted a Vidalia Onion. I also added about half a green pepper.**

DIRECTIONS
Bring chicken broth to a boil in a 2 quart or larger sauce pan and stir in the couscous. Cover the pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.

Fluff the couscous well, breaking up any chunks. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sources:
http://luke2-14.blogspot.com/2007/05/learning-to-sit-unsupported.html

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Black-Bean-and-Couscous-Salad/Detail.aspx