Israeli or pearl couscous tastes more like barley than traditional couscous, with a large, pearly grain that pops in the mouth. It's slightly chewy and utterly delicious.
This Harvest Grains Blend from Trader Joe's features Israeli couscous, along with red and green orzo, split dried garbanzo beans, and red quinoa. It's our new favorite at Trader Joe's, and here's why.
Most grain or rice blends are a bad idea; they look pretty in the bag but need different cooking times.
You're usually left with a decorative but unpleasant mishmash of overcooked and undercooked grains. Not so here; the textures are perfectly calibrated for the 10-minute cooking time. You have soft and chewy couscous, tender orzo, and garbanzo beans with a firmer texture that provides a nice contrast.
And of course the mix of whole grains, especially quinoa, is very good for you. Delicious, hearty, and a meal on its own. Highly recommended! We have a recipe for this coming along a little later today...
More Good Products from Trader Joe's
• Lemon Pepper Pappardelle Pasta
• Toasted Pine Nuts
• Joe's Red Mole
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Mmmm...I love this stuff too. I like to serve it with sautéed zucchini and squash.
view Ksquared's profile
Do you doctor up the recipe or cook it as stated on the bag?
view SleepyDweller's profile
Ursula eats this with avocado, goat cheese and black beans. It's a messy affair, but she grins the whole way through.
view Sara Kate's profile
Just as a historical note, "Israeli" couscous is a marketing term dating from the 1950s, and not a descriptive one. Couscous, including this larger toasted form, is not an Israeli invention but rather comes from the Maghreb, whence it spread quickly to the Arab Levant and also to Europe by way of the Moors and Saracens. Like felafel, Israeli couscous is really a traditional Arab food, but in this case entirely unmodified except in name.
That said, Israeli or not, this stuff is delicious!
view maqloubeh's profile
I went out and bought this today after seeing it on the blog! Looks delish.
view SisterRae's profile
I got this the last time I was at TJ's and made it to go with some pork chops. My kids turned up their noses but I loved it!
Am I the only one with crunchy garbanzos though?
view SallyGirl's profile
I love Trader Joe's and discovered the Harvest Grains Blend a while back. Here is what I did with it...It makes a gorgeous salad that can be changed up for any time of year.
http://foodcite.blogspot.com/2007/08/final-product-harvest-grains-salad.html
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SallyGirl, I got crunch garbanzos for quite a while so I had to keep cooking and adding liquid until they softened up. I made the recipe with Chard posted on this site, and though they gave a 10-15 min cooking time, my grains came in around 20 min.
view FromTheFuture's profile
Except for the quinoa and garbanzos I don't actually see any whole grains in there, only refined flours.
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