Spinach Mushroom Cous Cous

I love throwing this side together. In general it’s so fun to nicely combine grains and vegetables. This legit arose from whatever I had in my pantry one Friday afternoon. My daughter’s close friend E is vegetarian, and I love inventing new options for her when she comes for weekends. It’s always good to be challenged in the kitchen. No bored eaters on my watch. I love sesame oil, it’s so rich in flavor. I generally don’t gravitate towards Asian flavors; I find them too salty for my taste. So sesame oil is a nice way to more subtly incorporate that ilk of flavoring to my cooking. I only use the toasted sesame variety, the regular is bland. I don’t use much since it’s so strong.

I’ve been using Cous Cous a lot this year. It cooks in five seconds, and any item that instructs me to “fluff” anything already has a head start 🙌🏻. Make the grains, sautée the vegetables, add some dressing/sauce that you just whipped up and BAM‼️. Easy, lovely, and complete.

Mirin has been used in my kitchen for years. It’s an Asian rice wine. I use it to deglaze the sauté pan when I’m going for a teriyaki vibe🍱. It always cracks me up how it’s one tiny letter away from the word “moron”🤣. Howard Stern plays a classic clip of his father impatiently snapping at him as a child that us die hards love; “I told you not to be stupid, you moron!”  There will never not be a time where this is funny to me. My, how parenting has changed! This is your girl, unable to give a Cous Cous recipe without a Howard reference 😎.

I actually made this just last weekend. Huge hit, and even better the next day whilst picking at leftovers. If preparing in advance overnight, just refrigerate the veggies separately so they don’t darken in color. Make sauce fresh, it’s two seconds.     

Ingredients:

 One cup of that tiny grainy Cous Cous prepared to package directions.

4 bags baby spinach leaves.

4 containers sliced shiitake mushrooms.

Three tbsp sesame oil.

Three tbsp teriyaki sauce.

Three tbsp rice wine vinegar.

Mirin needed to deglaze sauté Pan.

One tbsp at a time, half a tsp salt and a quarter tsp to season while sautéing veggies.

Two tbsp of toasted sesame seeds to add before serving.   

Directions:

Make Cous Cous and set aside in a large bowl. Heat up two tbsp of olive oil in a large pan and add mushrooms. Sauté adding dashes of toasted sesame oil. Deglaze with mirin as pan dries up. Do that continuously.

When shrooms are two thirds cooked, add spinach. Both these vegetables give off water, so you’ll find that the pan won’t get bone dry.  As the spinach wilts to more than half its size, season with salt and pepper.

Mix the rice wine vinegar, teriyaki sauce, and another three tbsp of sesame oil into a sauce. Pour some on the Cous Cous so it has the chance to absorb the flavors in peace. Then add the cooked vegetables and add remainder of sauce. Make more if needed but remember these flavors are strong so you won’t need so much. Let all blend together at least a half hour. Add toasted sesame seeds on top right before serving.     

Watch the Karate Kid, but only the original.  Deduct points if you thought the original was with Jaden Smith. Write Ralph Macchio the fan letter you wanted to when you were in middle school. Cry about the fact he had no dad in the movie and was then bullied at his new school.  Practice a Cheer routine to “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama. Contemplate dressing as a shower for Purim. And for Christ’s sake, ALWAYS sweep the leg, Jonny. Uch, whatever. Just make this, it’s really good.