The full title of this recipe should probably be something long and ridiculous like “Cajun Carrots on a bed of Seasoned Couscous topped with Roasted Red Pepper and Carrot Top Pesto served with a Sunny Side up Egg,” but let’s be real, that just isn’t that catchy! So let’s dispel with titles and simply get on with it! Instead of writing up one large recipe for the entire dish, I broke it down into 4 different segments: 1) Cajun Carrots, 2) Roasted Red Pepper and Carrot Top Pesto, 3) Instant Pot Seasoned Couscous, and 4) Sunny Side up Egg.
When I cook, I like to “piggy-back” meals so that I do not need to make 4 or more components of a meal each night. For example, the couscous in this recipe could be left-over from the previous night when we may have had Coconut Curry Chickpeas, and the Pesto might carry-over to tomorrow night’s meal when we may have Seared Salmon with Rice Pilaf (wow, that sounds amazing!). I find it is less daunting to get into the kitchen when I have a little help from “before” and am setting myself up with a little help for “after.” So let’s go!
Cajun Carrots
Roasted Red Pepper and Carrot Top Pesto
Instant Pot Couscous. There are many, many recipes out there for cooking couscous in an instant pot, but I tend to gravitate to a few favorite websites for staple recipes and Piping Pot Curry is my go-to for Indian based Instant Pot meals. Borrowing from Meeta’s site, for this recipe I used “pearl” or “Israeli” couscous because I like it’s larger size. For 3 servings I added 1-3/4 cups couscous and 2 cups broth to the instant pot (if you want, you can start on sauté mode and add your choice of diced vegetables first) and pressure cook on manual mode for 2 minutes. When the instant pot beeps, let it naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Fluff and serve! (Click here for the full recipe.)
Sunny Side Up Egg. I am fortunate to have my own small flock of laying hens, or as I affectionately call them, the “Queens of the Greens.” When they are in egg laying mode I am making egg dishes left and right! I have found over the years that 1) properly preparing an egg is an art, and 2) everyone seems to have their own idea of what egg art is. So…make the egg however you, or whoever you are making it for, likes. I prefer “just cooked” so the yolk is nice and runny, but I am also preparing an egg that was laid within the last 24 hours, so please prepare your eggs accordingly.
Finishing touches! One of my favorite parts of any meal is putting the “toppings” on…all of those wonderful accents that make a meal not only more interesting to eat, but also to behold. A little extra grated parmesan cheese, a wedge of lemon, a sprig of green, a sprinkle of chopped nuts…go nuts! I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I did…it truly was a labor of love.
Take care-
-J
Cold Creek Farm 