Vegetable Soup With Pearl Couscous and Salmon
Israeli couscous (a.k.a. pearl couscous) is really a tiny, toasted pasta, and when tossed raw into soups, it cooks in 10 minutes flat. The small pearls add depth to this one-pot recipe, and the starch they release gives the broth a velvety texture. Turmeric, a relative of ginger (and typically found in curries), has a pungent, peppery flavor, and adds earthiness to the soup as well. To speed up prep, buy skinless salmon—and be sure to buy fillets that have a fairly even thickness, so that they cook evenly. If you’re not a fan of salmon, try shrimp.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium leek, white part only, thinly sliced
1 small bulb fennel, sliced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
4 cups vegetable broth
½ cup pearl couscous
16 ounces skinless salmon fillets
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high.
Add the leek and fennel and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, and turmeric and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the broth and bring to a boil.
Add the couscous; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, 5 minutes. Add the salmon and tomatoes and cook, stirring gently, until the salmon is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Break the salmon into pieces and serve the soup topped with the dill.
Yields: 4
