Vegetable Couscous

Wash, dry and and cut the tomatoes in half.

Wash and dry the zucchini. Then cut the top and bottom of the zucchini off. Next make 3 cuts lengthwise on the zucchini and then lay it flat and make 3 more cuts creating strips. Then rotate it a quarter of a turn and dice the zucchini.

Wash and dry the squash. Then cut the top and bottom of the zucchini off. Next make 3 cuts lengthwise on the squash and then lay it flat and make 3 more cuts. Then rotate it a quarter of a turn and dice the squash.

Wash and dry the pepper. Then cut the top and the bottom off of the pepper. Next place the pepper upright on one of the cut ends and run your knife from the top down to the opposite end. Then open the pepper and cut out the white parts and seeds of the pepper. Next cut the pepper into 1/4″ strips and then rotate the pepper and continue cutting to make a 1/4″ dice. (Bell peppers are easiest to cut if you cut on the inside versus the shiny exterior).

Remove the skin of the garlic and cut the brown end off. Then lightly smash it with the flat part of your chef knife. Then chop the garlic to fine mince and set aside.

Cut the top and the bottom off and then peel the outer layer of the onion. Next hold onto the onions growing end and use your knife to make multiple long cuts from the growing end to the opposite end. Then take your knife and dice the onion by cutting in the opposite direction. Set aside on the cookie sheet in a pile.

Clean the parsley by soaking it in a bowl of cold water and then drying them in a paper towel (this should be done in advance to allow time for drying. When the parsley is dry finely chop enough of the cilantro to make 1-tablespoon worth and save the other half for garnish. Use your pastry scrapper to scrape up all of the parsley.

Vegetable couscous: Heat the large sauté pan and add the oil. When the oil is hot add the onions, then the bell pepper, next the zucchini and squash. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper and then add the garlic. Continue to sauté and add more oil if you need to prevent the vegetables from burning. Next add the couscous, Parmesan cheese, lemon and parsley.  Finally add a bit more olive oil to give it a beautiful layer and flavor.