Braised Beefless Tips and CousCous with Tzatziki Mint Sauce
One of my all time favorite foods to cook is couscous and although it seems like it would be intimidating, it’s really super easy! Quick, versatile, and more interesting that plain rice, couscous can be served with just about any style of food.
Most people think of couscous as a middle-eastern dish but it actually has its roots, originally, in North Africa. Although it’s prepared similar to rice and other grains, couscous is actually made from tiny steamed balls of semolina flour, making it more like pasta and less like rice from a nutritional standpoint. In this dish it becomes the beautiful base for the braised beefless tips and the cool and refreshing tzatziki inspired mint sauce. An easy weekday meal, you can have this dish on the table, to feed a crowd, in just about 30 minutes!
What you are going to need to buy:
Pearled Couscous
Veggie Stock or Bouillon – (we like the “Not Beef Bouillon” by Edward and Sons
Olive Oil
White or Yellow Onion, small, diced
Sundries Tomatoes, jarred, in oil, or cut into bite-sized pieces
Black Kalama Olives, cut in half
Soy Sauce
Worcestershire
Vegan Mayo or Vegan Yogurt
Small Cucumber, diced very fine or grated
Fresh Mint
Lemon Juice
Minced Garlic - (we like these jarred options from Spice World!)
What you are going to need to do:
Step one in this recipe, or any recipe involving couscous is to dry toast the couscous. This sounds mo0re complicated than it is and in the end gives the finished dish a much more complex depth of flavor- It only takes two minutes! Do not skip this step.
In a medium saucepan, on medium/low heat measure out the desired amount of couscous, according to the boxed directions, for the number of serving you need to make. Add to this the minced garlic and onions. I almost always use the minced garlic that comes jarred in the produce section. One teaspoon for every half-cup of dry couscous you are cooking.
Let the couscous, onions, and garlic toast in the warm pan, stirring or agitating the pan often so that the contents do not burn. After about 90 seconds you should see the couscous pearls begin to turn from blond to light brown. When this happens take the saucepan off the heat. It will continue to toast, from the residual heat but you don’t want it to burn.
Set aside.
In a nonstick skillet, over medium heat, with just a little soy sauce and worcestershire sauce in the pan, (maybe a teaspoon of each) begin to brown the frozen beefless tips. Feel free to add any other sauces or seasonings that you like, at this time. Personally, I have a bottle of balsamic fig vinegar that I just love so I almost always add a dash of that, as well.
Bring your couscous saucepan back over to medium heat and add the veggie stock. (Follow the boxed directions of your couscous for the recommend amount of liquid) Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat and cover for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan and that the liquid is being absorbed. If, after 10 minutes) the couscous seems too runny, take the lid off the saucepan and some of that excess water should boil/evaporate off.
Continue to check on the browning beefless tips, stirring occasionally to make sure they are not sticking to the pan…but you do want a slight amount of sticky caramelization to be happening in the bottom of the pan from the soy and worcestershire we added earlier. If they are looking dry…feel free to add a touch more of your sauces.
Once the Couscous has absorbed all the liquid and is creamy, remove from heat and stir in the sundried tomatoes and olives.
For the tzatziki inspired mint sauce, combine Vegan Mayo or Vegan Yogurt, minced garlic, salt and pepper, lemon juice, grated cucumber, and diced fresh mint. Adjust quantities to your own personal taste. White Vinegar can be used instead of lemon juice. The sauce should be think enough to pour, but not super runny.
When ready to serve, lay down a base of the Couscous and top with the Beefless Tips. Drizzle the tzatziki inspired mint sauce over the top and garnish with another fresh spring of mint.
What's in our Tzatziki inspired Mint Sauce?
Vegan Mayo or Vegan Yogurt
Minced Garlic
Lemon Juice
Grated Cucumber
Salt and Pepper
Diced, Fresh Mint – (yes, it needs to be fresh!)