Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Couscous

November 26, 2012

Hey all! Hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving (for those who celebrate)! Did you enjoy your “big meal”? We had a small gathering of seven people and it was quite nice! After our disaster of a turkey last year, we decided to forgo cooking the whole turkey this year. My mom bought a turkey breast and put it in a slow cooker Wednesday morning with some chicken broth. I have to say—YUM! It was sooo juicy and tender and super easy! I think we’ve found our new way of cooking for Thanksgiving! Anyway, I used the turkey to make turkey pot pie (using this recipe). My mom cooked green beans with bacon and sesame seeds and she made a killer cranberry sauce with orange zest. To round out the meal we had rolls and green salad. My grandmother brought Waldorf salad and Jell-o salad. We finished the meal with three pies! With only seven people you can bet we had leftovers for days! 🙂

Anyhoo, I thought after all of the decadent and rich food, something light was in order. This recipe is delicious, uses seasonal vegetables and is super duper easy to make!

The sweet Brussel sprouts pair well with the crispy bacon and chewy couscous.

This recipe comes courtesy of Tyler Florence. A few years back I purchased his cookbook, Start Fresh, as a baby shower gift for someone who planned to make her own baby food. I really like this book because the recipes are broken down into different stages: 4-6 months; 6-8 months; 9-12 months; and 12 months and beyond. The great thing is that Tyler isn’t making special food for the children, but rather adapting the parent’s food for the kids, usually by pureeing to create a more kid-friendly texture.

Short ingredient list!

Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Couscous

(Adapted from Start Fresh by Tyler Florence)

Serves 4

Ingredients

5 pieces of thick cut bacon

3/4 pounds Brussel sprouts

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (I forgot them this time around, but suggest using them to add texture and protein)

1 box Near East Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil Pearled (Israeli) Couscous (Tyler cooks plain pearled couscous, but I like this option as it adds more flavor)

Chop up the ingredients and get ready to cook!

Directions

1. Cook the couscous according to the package directions.

2. Chop bacon into bite-size pieces. I use the fully cooked bacon because I don’t want to cook raw bacon (too messy), but the call is yours. Anyway, put the bacon in a pan and start rendering down.

3. After washing the Brussel sprouts, peel off the out leaves and discard. Cut off the bottom stem. Half the sprouts (or quarter if large).

4. Add the sprouts to the bacon and cook until tender and then start browning (this brights out the sweetness in them).

5. Once the sprouts are tender, mix in the couscous and chickpeas.

6. Dish up and enjoy!

Variations

Check out this variation from my fellow blogger and food buddy, Chris!

Notes

This dish makes a great meal or a mid-morning or afternoon snack. It’s light and delicious!