Chia CousCous
One savory dish and a very nice sweet couscous dish. The chia seeds in these two recipes blend very well into the couscous and are barely noticeable, even more so if you use white chia seeds. These two recipes are very good ways to introduce chia seeds to kids, especially if they are a bit suspicious of new foods.
1. Savoury chia seeds โ a side dish for 4 or a light lunch for 2
Ingredients
2 cups of vegetable stock
(I like to use good quality low salt vegetable stock cubes)
1 cup of your favorite vegetables โ try peas, corn and celery for kids
1 cup of couscous
1 Tablespoon of chia seeds
a knob of butter (optional)
Method
Gently simmer the vegetables in the stock until they are lightly cooked
Add the couscous and chia seeds and stir through the stock and vegetables
Leave to stand for around 10 minutes off the heat or until the stock is absorbed
Fluff the mixture with a fork before serving
Some people like stir a little butter through before serving
For a main meal you may want to stir through some cooked chicken
.
2. Fruity Couscous โ a great chia seed recipe for kids and an unusual dessert for 4
Ingredients
2 cups of orange juice or apple juice
1 chopped apple
Half a cup of chopped dried fruit (eg pears, apricot, dates)
1 cup of couscous
1 Tablespoon of chia seeds
Method
Put the chopped apple and dried fruit in a saucepan with the fruit juice
Bring to the boil
Stir in the couscous and the chia seeds
Leave to stand off the heat until the juice is absorbed fully โ around 5 to 10 minutes
Fluff up with a fork before serving
Could you substitute couscous with quinoa in this recipe?
Yes you could do that Jessica, but donโt forget that quinoa is a whole grain and therefore requires more cooking time than couscous.
Do you put the Chia seeds in the couscous already soaked?
Just add the chia seeds to the couscous dry, just after you add the liquid Elle. You can add a little more liquid if the mix is too dry. The chia seeds and the couscous both absorb the liquid you add.
Can you do this recipe with a half-half mix of the chia seeds and couscous? No kids involved, so that is not a concern.
Yes you can Lisa, but you may need to add more liquid to the recipe. I prefer to use white chia seeds with couscous as I think it looks better