Found this recipe on a new blog that I've recently discovered called The Naked Kitchen. I was going to make it just the way the recipe called for but it had some specialty ingredients that I didn't have, a few steps I thought unnecessary and I thought it could use some mushrooms. So ... here is my version.
Ingredients:
1&1/4 cups dry whole wheat couscous
2 cups water
Panko Breadcrumbs (I didn't measure but I'd say it was less than 1/4 of a cup)
5 cups raw baby spinach leaves, (I roughly chopped mine but that's personal preference)
2 cans (400g each) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
olive oil, for sauteing
fresh oregano, basil and parsley ... a handful or so of each, washed and chopped
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
salt, a couple of pinches
3 sliced mushrooms ... unless your kids love 'em and then you can use more. (mushrooms are the one thing that both of our kids despise and I often, but not always, take pity on them and do half with, half without ... tonight was one of the times I decided to go half and half.)
What you do:
Preheat your oven to 350F/180C
Saute onions and garlic in a blub of olive oil til onions are soft and beginning to be see through. Add cans of tomatoes, juice and all. Add herbs. Cook maybe 8 - 10 minutes, til sauce has reduced and thickened just a little bit. Add spinach and stir through sauce ... remove from heat. This is just to get the spinach to wilt a little bit.
While the onions and garlic are sauteing, put the water in a separate pot over high heat and bring to the boil. Add
couscous and a pinch of salt, give the pot a little shake to stir it,
cover and remove from heat. Let sit a few minutes, fluff with a fork
and set aside.
Mix couscous and tomato mixture together in a baking dish. Lay mushroom slices flat (if using). Top with cheese and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake uncovered 25 minutes (or til cheese is melted and starting to brown). Serve hot.
