When you want a quick autumnal dinner make a fried egg cabbage couscous bowl!
How many of you are enjoying Fall so far? I have to say I love it. It’s colder than what it should be, but I don’t care. I’m all for that sweater weather, 100 layers, heavy coats, warm drinks and bowls of food situation.
Speaking of bowls of food how amazing does this Fried egg cabbage couscous bowl look? I swear it looks even better when it’s all mixed up and every spoonful is the most amazing mix of slightly sour, tender cabbage salad, crispy chickpeas, salty feta, fluffy couscous, crunchy peppers and pumpkin seeds AND that perfect crispy egg. This is a proper autumnal amazebowl.
Before I jump into it, can I just ask what are you guys watching on TV (or your computer / smartphone / name your pick) right now? Cause I love Fall TV. Summers can be so damn boring, but Fall is a rollercoaster.
I love MR ROBOT. This is insanely good. Whyyyy haven’t I watched it sooner??? I’m obsessed with this now. I remember playing Until Dawn and thinking I should give Mr Robot a shot, but it clearly took me a while. I can’t wait for it to come back next year. I honestly love everything about the show – Elliot, how everything is filmed, etc. +Sidenote: Rami won an Emmy for his portrayal of Elliot and I can’t remember the last time I was this happy for someone I don’t know.
Also… I discovered The Affair and binged on it and now I can’t wait for November to come around to see what season 3 brings. First of all that intro by Fiona Apple is amazing and then the whole show is just awesome. I don’t recall ever watching a show that’s made like this – how it shares the same story from different points of view. The truth is always hidden in the middle. Seriously, I don’t want to spoil anything, just watch it! It’s drama mixed with more drama. And some lovely shots of Montauk and Long Island.
What to watch next? AHS is back with another season and I think it’s worth a shot, right? They generally have a great cast and I love anything scary, so yep, I’m watching this. Then there’s this new show called This is Us (with Milo a.k.a. Jess from Gilmore Girls) and the pilot was free to download on iTunes. I watched it and loved it, so I think I’ll keep watching this. I love anything real and funny.
I’ll keep you updated on my TV shenanigans, but now let’s go back to the bowl. Which, by the way, is the perfect thing to eat when watching TV. Not that you should watch TV when you eat, but you know, if you do, that’s perfectly fine. I do it too. I know, I know, I’m shameless.
This fried egg cabbage couscous bowl really is amazing. Once you get the hang of it, this is done so quickly. I generally love couscous bowls and throw in whatever I have on hand. Crispy chickpeas are a must though, and I’m starting to think cabbage should be too.
Because let me tell you about the cabbage. I finely slice it with my food processor, so it’s super thin. You can grate it, but using a processor saves time. I then add some salt and cover it with a plate. As it sits, covered, it releases some of the water and ends up being a lot softer. This is my favorite trick in the world. The cabbage is still crunchy, but much more pleasant to bite into. I dress it with oil and balsamic vinegar before serving and it’s truly the most amazing thing that goes with anything.
The rest of the ingredients just kind of fell into the bowl and they just work. The couscous is seasoned with some tomato paste and oregano, chickpeas are covered with cumin, there’s feta in there and pumpkin seeds, and green bell pepper because we’re not that deep into Fall just yet.
All I can really say is that this is our dinner of choice at the moment. Definitely a keeper.
Fried egg cabbage couscous bowl
A perfect mix of everything autumnal and good for you!
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 2 big servings 1x
- Category: Main course
Ingredients
Cabbage salad
- 500g (1 pound) red cabbage (about 1/2 large head), cored and finely sliced or grated
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 TBSPs white balsamic vinegar
- 1 TBSP olive or vegetable oil
Crispy chickpeas
- 230g (1 1/2 cups) cooked chickpeas (from a can), drained and rinsed
- 2 TBSPs olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Couscous
- 300ml (1 1/4 cups) water
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 100g (2/3 cup) couscous
Additions
- 1 small green bell pepper, seeds removed, thinly sliced
- 50g (1.5oz) feta cheese, crumbled (use more if you want)
- a handful of pumpkin seeds, or to taste
- 2 eggs
- olive oil
- salt, pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C (392°F) and line a small baking pan with parchment paper, set aside. Finely slice the cabbage and transfer it to a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and toss cabbage with your hands, put a plate or lid on the bowl. Keep covered for at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile make the chickpeas:
Put chickpeas in a bowl; add oil, salt and cumin. Stir and transfer to the prepared baking pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, until chickpeas are golden and crispy. Remove from oven. - As they bake make couscous:
Put water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Toss in the salt, oregano and tomato paste and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat, add the couscous and cover saucepan with lid / a large plate. Set aside and keep covered. - Finish the cabbage:
Remove the plate. Sprinkle cabbage with 2 TBSPs vinegar and 1 TBSP oil. Toss it with 2 forks so the oil and vinegar coat all the cabbage. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed, set aside. - Assemble the bowls:
Remove lid from couscous and stir couscous with a fork until it’s all fluffy. Split couscous between 2 bowls. Add portions of cabbage to the couscous. Then add the chickpeas. Top couscous with sliced peppers, some feta and pumpkin seeds. - Lastly make fried eggs:
Heat a non-stick pan over high heat until you feel the heat coming from it, if you wave your hand over the pan. Add 1 TBSP oil and let it warm up – about 30 seconds. Crack in both eggs. You’ll hear them pop and make funny sounds, at this point you can cover the eggs with a lid, but no longer than for 20-30 seconds. Cook for another minute or so, until the egg whites go from translucent to white and the edge is crispy, while the yolk is plump but soft to the touch (be careful and gentle if testing this, so you don’t pierce it). - Top each couscous bowl with the egg, season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Notes
I use this mandoline slicer for slicing the peppers. I think it would work for slicing the cabbage too. However I prefer a kitchen robot for that, it’s just faster.
looks so so so delicious 😀 now i am hungry 😉
😀 Thank you, Ina! 🙂