Tomato Cous Cous

I adapted this recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis and looooved the results! It was slightly time and labor intensive, but it was definitely worth it because it ended up being one of my favorite adapted recipes!

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 Tbsp. olive oil
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 carrot, chopped
* 3 cloves of garlic, minced
* 1 can (14 ounces) of chopped tomatoes (no salt added!)
* 1 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
* 1/4 cup white wine
* 1 cup water
* 1 cup cous cous
* 1 lemon, juiced
* parsley for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

* In large pot, heat oil and sautee onion, carrot and the minced garlic until vegetables are soft.
* Add canned tomatoes (with juice), stock, lemon juice and white wine. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 8-10 minutes.
* Pour small amounts of mixture at a time into a food processor and blend until its a smooth puree. (Don't forget that you need to allow the steam to come out when you are dealing with hot liquids in a blender or food processor or else you could end up with a *very* messy situation).
* Return remaining puree to the pot and add the cup of water and bring to a boil.
* Reserve 1 cup of the tomato puree for plating and moistening the cous cous (nobody likes dry cous cous!).
* Once the puree is boiling again, remove from heat, pour in the cous cous and cover and let sit for about 10 minutes.
* Stir and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
* Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.

Serving Suggestion:

* Drizzle with extra tomato puree.
* May also serve with garlic bread...
* Seafood: Serve with prawns sauteed in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice & parsley.
* Vegetarian: Serve with sauteed vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, or eggplant)...Or, as pictured below, with some roasted fennel and mushrooms cooked with garlic and sherry! YUM!