Braised Beefless Tips and CousCous with Tzatziki Mint Sauce

One of my all time favorite foods to cook is couscous and although it seems like it would be intimidating, it’s really super easy! Quick, versatile, and more interesting that plain rice, couscous can be served with just about any style of food.

Most people think of couscous as a middle-eastern dish but it actually has its roots, originally, in North Africa. Although it’s prepared similar to rice and other grains, couscous is actually made from tiny steamed balls of semolina flour, making it more like pasta and less like rice from a nutritional standpoint. In this dish it becomes the beautiful base for the braised beefless tips and the cool and refreshing tzatziki inspired mint sauce.  An easy weekday meal, you can have this dish on the table, to feed a crowd, in just about 30 minutes!

What you are going to need to buy:

Pearled Couscous

Veggie Stock or Bouillon – (we like the “Not Beef Bouillon” by Edward and Sons

Olive Oil  

White or Yellow Onion, small, diced

Gardein’s Beefless Tips

Sundries Tomatoes, jarred, in oil, or cut into bite-sized pieces

Black Kalama Olives, cut in half

Soy Sauce

Worcestershire

Vegan Mayo or Vegan Yogurt

Small Cucumber, diced very fine or grated

Fresh Mint

Lemon Juice

Minced Garlic - (we like these jarred options from Spice World!)  

What you are going to need to do:

Step one in this recipe, or any recipe involving couscous is to dry toast the couscous. This sounds mo0re complicated than it is and in the end gives the finished dish a much more complex depth of flavor- It only takes two minutes! Do not skip this step.

In a medium saucepan, on medium/low heat measure out the desired amount of couscous, according to the boxed directions, for the number of serving you need to make. Add to this the minced garlic and onions. I almost always use the minced garlic that comes jarred in the produce section. One teaspoon for every half-cup of dry couscous you are cooking.

Let the couscous, onions, and garlic toast in the warm pan, stirring or agitating the pan often so that the contents do not burn. After about 90 seconds you should see the couscous pearls begin to turn from blond to light brown. When this happens take the saucepan off the heat. It will continue to toast, from the residual heat but you don’t want it to burn.

Set aside.

In a nonstick skillet, over medium heat, with just a little soy sauce and worcestershire sauce in the pan, (maybe a teaspoon of each) begin to brown the frozen beefless tips. Feel free to add any other sauces or seasonings that you like, at this time. Personally, I have a bottle of balsamic fig vinegar that I just love so I almost always add a dash of that, as well.

Bring your couscous saucepan back over to medium heat and add the veggie stock. (Follow the boxed directions of your couscous for the recommend amount of liquid) Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat and cover for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan and that the liquid is being absorbed.  If, after 10 minutes) the couscous seems too runny, take the lid off the saucepan and some of that excess water should boil/evaporate off.

Continue to check on the browning beefless tips, stirring occasionally to make sure they are not sticking to the pan…but you do want a slight amount of sticky caramelization to be happening in the bottom of the pan from the soy and worcestershire we added earlier. If they are looking dry…feel free to add a touch more of your sauces.

Once the Couscous has absorbed all the liquid and is creamy, remove from heat and stir in the sundried tomatoes and olives.

 For the tzatziki inspired mint sauce, combine Vegan Mayo or Vegan Yogurt, minced garlic, salt and pepper, lemon juice, grated cucumber, and diced fresh mint. Adjust quantities to your own personal taste. White Vinegar can be used instead of lemon juice. The sauce should be think enough to pour, but not super runny.

When ready to serve, lay down a base of the Couscous and top with the Beefless Tips. Drizzle the tzatziki inspired mint sauce over the top and garnish with another fresh spring of mint.

What's in our Tzatziki inspired Mint Sauce?

Vegan Mayo or Vegan Yogurt

Minced Garlic

Lemon Juice

Grated Cucumber

Salt and Pepper

Diced, Fresh Mint – (yes, it needs to be fresh!)

Asian Inspired Orange Chick'n with Couscous and Sauteed Veggies

Who doesn’t love Orange Chicken? Served on a bed of dainty couscous, it’s feels fancier than just stir-fry and rice but still takes less than 30 minutes to prepare. This sweet and savory dish is a quick and easy way to get a hot meal, on a week-night table, that everyone will love.

Although it’s prepared similar to rice and other grains, couscous is actually made from tiny steamed balls of semolina flour, making it more like pasta and less like rice from a nutritional standpoint. Most people think of couscous as a middle-eastern dish but it actually has its roots, originally, in North Africa, and is great compliment to just about every style of cuisine. Served with fresh veggies, the best part about this dish? The leftovers make amazing chicken burrito wraps the next day for lunch!

What you are going to need to buy:

Boxed Couscous - (we like the Near East brand and they have several to choose from!)

Veggie Stock or Bouillon – (we like the “Not Chicken Bouillon” by Edward and Sons

Olive Oil  

White or Yellow Onion, small, diced

Gardein’s Mandarin Crispy Chick’n

Fresh Veggies - (we used, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Baby Carrots, and Mushrooms)

Soy Sauce

Worcestershire

Minced Garlic - (we like these jarred options from Spice World!)    

What you are going to need to do:

Step one in this recipe, or any recipe involving couscous is to dry toast the couscous. This sounds more complicated than it actually is and in the end gives the finished dish a much more complex depth of flavor- It only takes two minutes! Do not skip this step.

In a medium saucepan, on medium/low heat measure out the desired amount of couscous, according to the boxed directions, for the number of serving you need to make. Add to this the minced garlic and onions. I almost always use the minced garlic that comes jarred in the produce section. One teaspoon for every half-cup of dry couscous you are cooking.

Let the couscous, onions, and garlic toast in the warm pan, stirring or agitating the pan often so that the contents do not burn. After about 90 seconds you should see the couscous pearls begin to turn from blond to light brown. When this happens take the saucepan off the heat. It will continue to toast, from the residual heat but you don’t want it to burn.

Set aside.

Ideally, this rest of this recipe can be made in one big skillet, if you’ve got one big enough for the chicken and the veggies to cook at the same time, on opposite sides of the pan, without too much crowding. To a large skillet or frying pan, over medium low heat add the Gardein Chicken Nuggets to one side of the pan, making sure that they are all laying flat and not too crowded. You want to crisp up the outsides a little first before we add the sauce.

Cook the nuggets on medium heat for about 1-2 minutes or until golden brown and then flip all nuggets over to let the other side brown. At this point, if you pan is big enough add the veggies to the other side of the skillet, sprinkle with a little salt and drizzle with a dash of soy sauce and worcestershire.

Bring your couscous saucepan back over to medium heat and add the veggie stock. (Follow the boxed directions of your couscous for the recommend amount of liquid) Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat and cover for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan and that the liquid is being absorbed.  If, after 10 minutes) the couscous seems too runny, take the lid off the saucepan and some of that excess water should boil/evaporate off.

At this point your chicken should be crispy and cooked through and your veggies tender. Remove Veggies from the pan and set aside, covered. Turn up the heat in the skillet and add the pack of sauce that is included in the Gardein Mandarin Chick’n Meal kit. The sauce is very thin, at this point, so we want to take a few minutes and thicken it up. Bring the sauce to a boil, but be careful not to burn it. You will need to stir and watch this closely but once you see the sauce turn more viscous and honey-like, remove skillet from the heat. Add the sauteed veggies back into the pan with the chick’n just to coat them in whatever residual sauce is left in the pan and to re-warm just a little.

Once the Couscous has absorbed all the liquid and is creamy, remove from heat. If your couscous has become too dry, no worries, just add a little water, maybe a tablespoon, and stir to incorporate. When ready to serve, lay down a base of creamy couscous and top with Orange Chick’n and sauteed veggies. Additionally, you could garnish with slivered almonds or crushed peanuts.