pesto

Daring Bakers: Star Breads

Beauty surrounded the Daring Bakers this month as our host, Sawsan, of chef in disguise, challenged us to make beautiful, filled breads. Who knew breads could look as great as they taste?

pestobread2

When I saw this challenge I felt a little intimidated.  I don’t feel 100% comfortable with bread, always fearing I will make a mistake somewhere along the way and the dough won’t rise or the end product will be dry and inedible.  But I wound up with two wonderful loaves of beautiful bread that even my kids loved.  It was referred to as the “special bread” by my son.

This challenge gave Daring Bakers the freedom to choose what they used to fill their bread and also what design they would create.  Being the non-creative type I just used the suggested methods for twisting my loaves of bread.  And if any part of you thinks, “I can’t do that.” trust me, you can.  It’s easier than it seems. For fillings I made a savory bread and a sweet bread.  I used the same dough recipe for each.

For the savory loaf I chose basil pesto and mozzarella cheese.  My only regret is not adding just a little more cheese to the layers.  But it was delicious and something I would definitely go through the trouble to make again.  It would be a lovely and impressive bread to bring to a dinner party or pot luck.

pestobread1

For the sweet loaf I went with classic cinnamon sugar.  We ate this bread for breakfast over the course of 3 days and Carson was sad when it was gone.  Again, this is something I’d make again without hesitation.  The method I used in twisting the dough was a little more complicated and tedious than the pesto bread, but baked up beautifully.

cinnamonbread3 cinnamonbread2

I drizzled this bread with a simple milk and powdered sugar glaze before serving.  Almost like eating a cinnamon roll, possibly better.cinnamonbread1

Here are a few pictures of the process, none of the actual twisting of the bread since I am my own photographer and could not manage to get any action shots.

dough1 dough2 dough3 dough4 dough5 dough6

The instructions I am going to try to write for how to shape your bread will probably fail in perfectly communicating how to do it.  So here are a few links that will help you.

This one has a good video on the entire process.  This is not the twisting method I used, but I think it looks beautiful and wish I’d found it before I made my bread!

And this one is what I used.  I found the pictures and instructions to be very helpful.

Pesto Star Bread

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3/4 cup milk, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons dry yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3-1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (start with 3 1/4, add more if you need it)

Filling

  • 3-5 tablespoons basil pesto, store bought or homemade
  • 3-5 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese

Topping

  • olive oil
  • faked salt

Directions

Dough

  1. Heat butter, milk and water just until butter has melted and mixture is between 100 and 110°F, warm but not hot.
  2. Put milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk in egg and sugar, then sprinkle yeast on to the mixture, stir once then let sit for 10-15 minutes.  Mixture should be foamy after this, if it’s not your liquid was too hot and killed the yeast or your yeast was no good to begin with.
  3. Place the dough hook on your mixer and begin mixing, adding about a cup of flour at a time.  Once all the flour has been added, mix until dough comes together.
  4. Place in a large greased bowl, cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.

Filling and Shaping and Baking

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
  2. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 4 equal sized pieces.
  3. Roll one dough piece out, just big enough to fit your template.  I used an 8-inch cake pan, but I think if you can manage to roll your dough out well enough you could get a 9 or 10-inch circle out of the dough.  8-inch was a nice size, though.
  4. Place the template onto the dough and trim off the excess.  Transfer to the cookie sheet.
  5. Spread with a heaping tablespoon of pesto, just about to the edge, then sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of cheese.
  6. Repeat with the remaining balls of dough, but not topping the top layer with pesto and cheese.  Press and tuck the edges of the top piece to enclose the bread somewhat.
  7. Brush the top layer with olive oil.
  8. With a small sharp knife or a bench scraper, cut the bread into 12 wedges, leaving the outer edge intact, making sure to cut all the way through the layers.
  9. Take one triangle and twist it gently 3 times and place back  in the center.  Repeat with the rest of the wedges, twisting in the same direction.
  10. Let rest for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 450°F.  Sprinkle with flaked salt and bake for 5 minutes, then lower oven temp to 375°F and bake for 10-15 more minutes until bread is golden brown.  Keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t get too dark.

Cinnamon Star Bread

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3/4 cup milk, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 teaspoons dry yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3-1/4 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling

  • 1/2 stick butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Topping

  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

Glaze (enough for 4 pieces, double for the entire loaf)

  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons milk

Directions

Dough

  1. Heat butter, milk and water just until butter has melted and mixture is between 100 and 110°F, warm but not hot.
  2. Put milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk in egg and sugar, then sprinkle yeast on to the mixture, stir once then let sit for 10-15 minutes.  Mixture should be foamy after this, if it’s not your liquid was too hot and killed the yeast or your yeast was no good to begin with.
  3. Place the dough hook on your mixer and begin mixing, adding about a cup of flour at a time.  Once all the flour has been added, mix until dough comes together.
  4. Place in a large greased bowl, cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.

Filling and Shaping and Baking

  1. Whisk sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
  3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and divide into 4 equal sized pieces.
  4. Roll one dough piece out, just big enough to fit your template.  I used an 8-inch cake pan, but I think if you can manage to roll your dough out well enough you could get a 9 or 10-inch circle out of the dough.  8-inch was a nice size, though.
  5. Place the template onto the dough and trim the excess.  Transfer carefully to the cookie sheet.
  6. Brush bottom layer with butter, then sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar.  Repeat with the remaining dough, but only brush the top layer with butter.
  7. Using a small sharp knife or a bench scraper cut circle of dough into 8 equal-sized wedges, making sure to cut all the way through the layers.
  8. With a small knife cut a slit in the center of each triangle leaving space at the top and bottom, the cut should not reach either the base or the tip of the triangle.
  9. Take the tip of the triangle and gently bring it up, over and through the slit, then repeat once more making two twists.  Place the triangle back on the baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pieces.
  10. Take the outside edge of each triangle and pinch the ends up and together.
  11. Whisk together the milk and sugar and brush onto the bread.
  12. Let rest for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 450°F.
  13. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375°F and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Glaze

  1. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl.
  2. Whisk in milk until mixture is smooth.
  3. Glaze entire loaf (with a doubled recipe of the glaze) OR glaze each piece individually.  If you don’t plan to eat all the bread in one sitting I’d recommend waiting to glaze the remaining bread until you plan to eat it.

Store any leftover bread wrapped in foil at room temperature for 3-5 days.  Re-warm in a low oven, toaster oven or microwave.  You could also freeze this bread, wrap it well in plastic wrap, then foil.  Thaw then reheat in a low oven.

 

 

Tomato & Pesto Chicken

You can’t argue with the raw ingredients here.  Who doesn’t love pesto, tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and freshly grated parmesan?  The time and effort this takes is another thing to love about this recipe.  I recommend this to anyone who doesn’t have the luxury of tons of time to make dinner but still wants something that didn’t come from the freezer or got picked up on the way home from work.  But I sure do enjoy Ben walking through the door with a pizza box every now and then…

pestochicken

While wasting time on Pinterest, I stumbled upon this recipe from Skinnytaste.com.  I took the basics of the recipe, kind of ignored the measurements, and whipped this up in no time last week.  We loved it and will have it again I am sure.

I had everything I needed for this meal already in my kitchen except for the chicken.  The version of myself I aspire to be would’ve used the pesto she’d made last summer with the basil from her garden and then froze in matching labeled containers (see post on Skinnytaste).  Instead I used a jar of Giada pesto from Target.  And while lacking in fresh from the garden flavor, it was good.

This can easily be adapted to serve 1 person or a dozen.  You can slice fresh mozzarella  or use the bag of shredded mozzarella, but provolone would be a great choice as well.  If you have a different type of pesto, try it out.  I think a nice sprinkle of fresh chopped basil would be a great and beautiful finish.  The ingredients below are what you will need, but the amounts are merely suggestions.  If you want a healthier option, use the measurement from skinnytaste.  I didn’t even measure.  So use your judgement and make it how you like it.

Skinnytaste slices each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 cutlets.  For her this may be portion control, but I think it’s a great way to prepare the chicken even if you aren’t concerned with all that.  The chicken cooks more evenly this way and with some of the ridiculously thick chicken breasts I’ve bought in my time it makes a lot of sense to slice them this way for cooking.

Pair with pasta and steamed veggies or crusty bread and a nice green salad.  Enjoy.

Tomato & Pesto Chicken

Slightly adapted from Skinnytaste

Ingredients

  • Boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 per person), sliced lengthwise into 2 thin pieces if breats are especially thick
  • Basil pesto, 2-3 teaspoons per chicken breast
  • Small tomatoes such as roma or campari, about 1 per chicken breast depending on their size, sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese, 1-2 tablespoons per chicken breast
  • Freshly grated Parmesan, to taste
  • Salt and Pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Arrange in pan sprayed with non-stick spray or foil lined and sprayed for easier clean up.
  4. Spread desired amount of pesto on each breast and bake for 10-12 minutes, a few minutes longer if you did not slice the chicken into thinner pieces.  Chicken should be almost done.
  5. Remove from the oven and place sliced tomatoes on each chicken breast.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and then Parmesan cheese.
  6. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes, until cheese is melted and just begins to brown.

 

A Busy Life and Lots of Farmhouse Recipes: Spinach Basil Pesto, Quinoa Mac and Cheese Casserole, Mediterranean Eggplant and Quinoa Salad

The last month has been a crazy one, and the next two aren’t going to be any different.  We are moving from our sweet little rent house into a lovely suburban home with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a nice big kitchen with garbage disposal, and enough counter space not to have to balance pans on top of the coffee maker.  Yes.  I have done this.  Life will be so good.  And about 5 weeks after we move in we will have a new baby on our hands, and so life will be a totally different kind of crazy.  Can that be an acceptable excuse for why I haven’t blogged in a month?

I have been cooking, but haven’t been taking pictures of any of it or recording it anywhere.  This is a big time bummer.  One of my favorite things about having this blog is being able to search for a recipe I’ve made in the past and be reminded of what I did to change it that made it better, or the things I didn’t like that I’d change the next time around.  When I don’t update the blog, I don’t have those recipes…unless I managed to write notes on them and put them somewhere safe…which is a rare event.  So today I am playing catch-up.

One of the things I’ve had the luxury of participating in this summer is the Farmhouse Delivery here in Houston.  When the bushel of local fruits and veg arrive on my doorstep carried by a shaggy headed hipster jamming out to whatever cool music is playing through his earbuds, I get positively giddy. Some of the items we receive are no-brainers.  Peaches and blackberries are perfect in my morning yogurt and granola.  Cucumbers, sweet peppers and the sweetest cherry tomatoes known to man get sliced and tossed into salads.  Potatoes, onions, corn and slicing tomatoes have also been part of our meals.  But then we get stuff like patty pan squash and eggplant.  What am I going to do with this?  I haven’t figured out the patty pan yet, but did find a use for the eggplant.  So Farmhouse Delivery, thank you for helping me to explore more in my kitchen.  And thanks, Sarah, for the recipe!  I feel more of an obligation to use the produce fully since, well, we paid for it, AND it’s fresh and local and delicious.  If I forget about a grocery store peach in the back corner of the fridge drawer I toss it out.  If I were to forget a farmhouse peach I would probably cry a few tears and have a little memorial service for the sweet and forgotten little guy. On to the recipes…

Spinach, Basil & Walnut Pesto

A big bag of fresh basil came one weekend, and so I made 2 batches of this pesto.  We ate it on pizza with mozzarella and farmhouse tomatoes.  Another night I mixed it in with penne pasta and chopped cherry tomatoes topped with grated Parmesan.  The leftovers from that meal got mixed with lots of mozzarella cheese, more pesto, more tomatoes and then baked in a casserole topped with Parmesan bread crumbs.  So many easy and delicious dinners out of one batch of pesto.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups baby spinach
  • 2 cups basil
  • 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Directions

  1. Rinse and pat dry spinach and basil.
  2. Put greens in the bowl of a food processor, pour walnuts over, sprinkle with salt and begin to pulse.  While pulsing, add olive oil in a stream until desired consistency is reached.  Taste and add more salt if needed.
  3. Transfer to a lidded container and store covered in the fridge or freeze for later use.

Quinoa Mac and Cheese Casserole

I’ve made this twice now.  It is sure to become a regular on our dinner menu.  The great thing is that you can change the vegetables, spices and cheese to make it fit your tastes or what you have available.  I used an onion from Farmhouse in this recipe, but other than that it’s a grocery store produce meal.  Don’t worry, I’m not getting all snooty about my produce…at least not forever.

Adapted from Eat, Live, Run

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups dry quinoa
  • 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 3 green onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 6 ounce bag fresh spinach
  • 8 ounces mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups grated white cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp dry mustard
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Heat a drizzle of oil over medium heat in a large, deep saucepan.  Add the onion, bell peppers, scallions and saute for about four minutes, just until bell pepper has started to soften.   Add the mushrooms and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted.  Add the garlic and continue sauteing for another 30 seconds.
  3. Add quinoa to the pot, followed by the chicken broth, salt, dry mustard and pepper.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed, stirring just a couple times.
  4. Add 1 1/2 cups of the grated cheese and milk.  Stir to combine then pour into a greased 9 x 13″ casserole dish.
  5. In a small bowl, combine the Panko and the remaining cheese.  Sprinkle on top of casserole and bake for about 30 minutes until golden.

Mediterranean Eggplant and Quinoa Salad

Eggplant, onion, zucchini and tomatoes from Farmhouse and then a great punch from the lemon dressing and an herby freshness from the parsley and mint make this my kind of summer meal.  My sweet sister helped me find a recipe to use up my eggplant without feeling like I was eating eggplant.  I used her suggestions of using quinoa instead of barley, and adding in a can of chickpeas and crumbled feta.  This has made a terrific lunch the past couple days.

From Sarah, Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 2 small to medium eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 2-3 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/2 onion, halved then sliced
  • 10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 cup chopped scallion (from 1 bunch)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 1/2 cups quinoa
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 3 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/3 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and halved
  • 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
  • 4-6 ounces crumbled feta

Directions

  1. Roast eggplant and zucchini: Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.  Toss eggplant and zucchini and onion with 5 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then spread in 2 oiled large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans. Roast vegetables in oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Combine vegetables in 1 pan and cool.
  2. Cook Quinoa: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallion, cumin and coriander, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add quinoa and cook, stirring until well coated with oil, 2 minutes more.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Transfer to reserved shallow baking pan and spread to quickly cool, uncovered, to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
  3. Make dressing and assemble salad: Whisk together lemon juice, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 2-3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl.  Add quinoa, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients to bowl with dressing and toss until combined well.

Cilantro Peanut Pesto Pasta

When it comes to pesto, I tend to think only of the basil and pine nut variety.  This one is my favorite.  But there are so many combinations of herbs and nuts that you can use to make pesto!  I find basil and pine nuts to be on the pricier end of the spectrum, so using cheap ingredients like cilantro and peanuts make this a wallet friendly pesto as well as a delicious one.  The pesto is tossed with some linguine and shredded chicken to make for a complete meal.

My Everyday Food magazine on the iPad is proving to be quite the handy resource.  I can put the iPad in my cookbook holder.  I don’t have to print out the recipe, and I don’t have to have my big laptop next to the stove and sink.  In addition to being convenient, there are a lot of quick and simple recipes, like this one.

I didn’t change much about the recipe.  I used less pasta than the recipe calls for.  I did this for a couple reasons.  I’d rather have more stuff in my pasta dishes and less pasta.  Also, my pasta was a 1 pound package.  I’d rather use half and have enough to use later for another recipe instead of using 3/4 and trying to incorporate 1/4 into a meal.  I had some pesto left over, so I should have just used the 3/4 pound.

The recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, but spice hasn’t been my friend lately.  So I left that out.  I used a little more ginger, added shredded rotisserie chicken for some protein, and used 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and found that to be plenty.  But start with 1 tablespoon, taste and adjust as you see fit.

Martha says you can use the entire bunch of cilantro, including the stems.  I’m not sure if the same is true for basil and parsley.  I would think parsley would be since the two are so similar (I’ve bought one instead of the other at the store on more than one occasion).  Basil, I don’t know.  But since basil leaves are so big it isn’t a difficult task to remove them from the stem.

This cilantro peanut pesto has inspired me to search out some other interesting pestos.  Here is a kale and walnut pesto from Lauren of Healthy Foods for Living.  And Cookie + Kate’s arugula and walnut pesto sounds amazing.

Cilantro Peanut Pesto Pasta

From Everyday Food

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch cilantro, 1/4 cup leaves reserved for serving
  • 1 clove garlic, smashed and peeled
  • 1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest plus 2 tablespoons juice
  • 1 teaspoon light-brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup roasted peanuts, divided
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 to 3/4 pound spaghetti or linguine, cooked according to package instructions
  • 2 cups shredded chicken (optional)

Directions

  1. In a food processor, combine cilantro, garlic, ginger, vegetable and sesame oils, lime zest and juice, brown sugar, and 1/4 cup peanuts. Pulse until a coarse paste forms. Season with soy sauce and pulse to combine.
  2. In a large bowl, toss pesto with pasta.  Stir in shredded chicken.
  3. Roughly chop remaining peanuts and sprinkle over pasta along with cilantro leaves.

Easy Basil Pesto

Summer means an abundance of fresh basil.  Fresh basil means fresh pesto.  So, summer must mean fresh pesto.

There are so many things you can do with pesto.  Spread on  baguette slices and garnish with a slice of tomato…make it even better with a piece of fresh mozzarella.  Toss it with warm pasta.  Mix with some mayo for basil mayonnaise.  Use on pizza and panini.  Thin it out with more olive oil and drizzle over roasted chicken or fish.

A lovely college friend of mine went to a Giada De Laurentiis cooking demo at Sur La Table when she was in LA 5 years ago.  She bought me a signed copy of Everyday Italian.  It is one of those cookbooks that I love, but don’t use nearly enough.  This pesto recipe is from that cookbook and it is so simple and delicious.

You can make this in a blender, or in a food processor.  If you’re planning to double the recipe, which isn’t a bad idea, so that you have some extra pesto for freezing, then use the food processor.

Basil Pesto

From Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

  • 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 1-2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2-2/3 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions

  1. Toast pine nuts in a 350°F oven for 6-8 minutes until slightly browned.  Be careful not to burn them.
  2. Place basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper in blender with a tablespoon or so of the olive oil and blend.
  3. With the blender still going, slowly drizzle in the remaining oil until the consistency is to your liking.  You may need to stop every now and then to push any stray basil leaves back down.
  4. Transfer to a bowl and stir in parmesan, season to taste with more salt and pepper if desired.

 

Chicken Sausage and Pepper Kabobs

Grilling makes almost all foods taste better, and it makes your neighbors jealous.  Last night I made these incredibly simple sausage kabobs and they were delicious.  The recipe is from The Food Network.  Here is the link.

The pesto recipe needed a bit more oil, so I added about 1 tablespoon more than called for.  A little minced garlic also made the pesto extra special.  I left out the cherry tomatoes…because I forgot to buy them despite the fact that they were on my list.  Can pregnancy brain begin this early?  Anyway, I found a yummy red pepper and garlic chicken sausage that was perfect.  The remaining pesto is mixed into plain couscous and is a great dish.  Very simple and clean.  I would maybe add some lemon juice to the couscous to kick up the flavor.

This is a quick, simple, and delicious meal.  It can easily be doubled to feed more people and changed to accommodate what you like…or don’t like.

Chicken Sausage and Pepper Kabobs

Ingredients

  • 1 cup couscous
  • 2 bell peppers (red and yellow), cut into chunks
  • 1 (12-ounce) package chicken sausage (preferably garlic-flavored), cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 large red onion, cut into chunks
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro
  • 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 scallions, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Directions

  1. Soak eight 8-inch skewers in water, at least 15 minutes. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium high. Prepare the couscous as the label directs.
  2. Meanwhile, toss the bell peppers, sausage, onion and tomatoes in a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Thread onto the skewers, alternating the sausage and vegetables. Grill, turning, until the vegetables are slightly softened and the sausage begins to brown, 6 to 7 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, puree the parsley, cilantro, garlic and scallions in a blender with the remaining 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, the vinegar and 2 tablespoons water. Season with salt and pepper. Brush the skewers with some of the pesto and continue to cook, turning, until the tomatoes are tender and the sausage is charred, 6 to 7 more minutes.
  4. Toss the couscous with half of the remaining pesto and season with salt and pepper. Serve with the skewers and the remaining pesto, for dipping.