Name: Cajun Couscous
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoon Canola Oil; 1/2 cup onion (finely diced ); 1/2 cup green bell pepper (finely diced ); 1/4 cup celery (finely diced ); 1 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon paprika; 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon oregano; 1 teaspoon thyme; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper; 1 cup water; 1 cup dry Couscous; 1 tablespoon Canola Oil (to fluff)

Cajun Couscous is fun side dish packed with affordable veggies with little time investment. Bring some heat to your winter with this light grain and veggie side!

I find that us food bloggers tend to focus on mains and cookies and forget about side dishes. Yea, I am guilty of it! My top recipes for the past while has been my Steel Cut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and Budget Egg Roll Rice Bowl. But sometimes, you really need a good side dish that is flavourful to round-out a nice meal. I personally tend to throw some peppers in the oven and make a lackluster side of rice or egg noodles (#RealLife) and am always looking for inspiration for a fun and different side dish.

I have been playing with different versions of Mirepoix lately. You know the classic Onion, Celery and Carrot mixture that is used as a base for many savoury dishes? Well, it turns out many types of cuisines have their own version. Naturally, I wanted to learn about the version that flaunts the use of bell peppers! This Cajun or Creole version is called The Holy Trinity. It is two parts onion to one part each of green bell pepper and celery. For my Cajun Couscous I did change the ratio a bit, so that the dish has more veg!

I wanted to use The Holy Trinity in a unique way so I decided to make a Couscous based dish. The truth is, I don’t use Coucous often and I found a bag in the back of my pantry and thought to myself “I don’t want this to go to waste”. Again, #RealLife. In testing, I thought about it and realized that, for whatever reason, us bloggers only seem to use Couscous in summer salads so let’s just pretend I am trying to pave the way for new food trends, okay?

If you try-out this Cajun Couscous, let me know how it goes! It will take only 20 minutes of your time and is a fun side dish make while you bake chicken or fry some white fish.

Cajun Couscous

Cajun Couscous is fun side dish packed with affordable veggies with little time investment. Bring some heat to your winter with this light grain and veggie side!

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 15

Total Time 20

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Creole

Servings 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoon Canola Oil
1/2 cup onion finely diced
1/2 cup green bell pepper finely diced
1/4 cup celery finely diced
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup water
1 cup dry Couscous
1 tablespoon Canola Oil to fluff

Instructions

In medium sized skillet, heat Canola oil. Add diced veggies and let sweat until tender and fragrant (about 5 minutes).
Add spices to veggies and toast spices for 30 seconds, stirring frequently as not to burn the spices. Increase heat to high and add water. Bring to a boil.
Once water, veggie and spice mixture has been brought to a boil, remove from heat and add Couscous. Cover and leave mixture for 5 minutes.
Fluff finished Couscous with fork and Canola Oil. Serve immediately.

Did you make this Cajun Couscous at home? If so, take a picture and tag it with #PeppersAndPennies ! I love seeing your creations and will gladly share your pictures!