Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous Stuffed Capsicum

HELLOOOOOOO!!! LONG TIME NO SEE =]

I've finished exams and now on holidays! Even the exam marks have been released, 'twas a relief seeing that i didn't screw everything up *phew* and now it's time to get back to blogging *yay*

Okay so I received a pack of this new gourmet pearl couscous from Erin a while back and I have finally had the time to try it out. Pearl couscous is different from traditional couscous in that traditional couscous is about 1mm in diameter when dry but pearl couscous is much bigger coming in at 3mm - like a pearl =P Random note: I always thought couscous was a type of rice, but it was only through trying out this pearl couscous that I've learnt that it's actually a pasta! Blu gourmet pearl couscous has been toasted in an open flame oven who allows it to absorb liquid and sauces, making it jam packed with flavour whilst remaining al dente.

I did get some recipes along with the couscous but in the end I decided to use make up my own thing =] I did poke around on the internet for some ideas but I didn't strictly follow any recipe - I just used ingredients I liked and stuff that we already had at home.

Blu Gourmet Pearl Couscous Stuffed Capsicum

Ingredients

1 cup of gourmet pearl cous cous

4-6 medium sized capsicums

1/4 can of chickpeas (100g)

150g canned corn kernels

1/2 medium sized Lebanese cucumber

2-3 small button mushrooms

50g crumbled fetta cheese

50g sun dried tomatoes

1. Cook the gourmet pearl couscous according to the instructions on the packet (1 cup couscous to 1 1/4 cups water or stock), stirring occasionally.

2. Whilst the couscous is cooking, cut the tops off the capsicums and put them aside. Clear the hull of any seeds and don't forget to preheat the oven to 180C =]

3. Finely chop the cucumber and mushrooms. I did pour some hot water over the mushrooms so they cooked a little in hindsight I don't think that was really necessary.

4. Drain the chickpeas and corn and give them a quick rinse to get rid of the funny canned water taste.

5. Mix all the ingredients together with the couscous and season as desired.

leftover couscous mixture

6. Stuff the capsicums with the couscous mixture, replace the tops and bake in the oven for 20min or until the capsicum skins start to shrivel. (you can reduce the time needed in the oven by blanching the capsicums beforehand but I just let them cook in the oven)

*TADAAAA*

You could really tell that the couscous absorbed all the liquid, I mean the other ingredients weren't that heavy yet the stuffed capsicums were SO HEAVY! It did take me a while to figure out how I could best eat this, in the end it required a knife, a fork AND a spoon! LOL The couscous was really chewy and fun to eat, the texture was kind of like the pearls you'd find in pearl milk tea! I only used water to cook the couscous but I think they would be even more flavoursome if I tried using stock next time ^^ As for the other ingredients, they are all more favourite foods so I liked it all hehehe (except the chickpeas - I only put them in because a lot of recipes online seemed to use chickpeas. Next time no more chickpeas for me! LOL)