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Bento n°6: Taboulé & Beetroot Salad

Contents

• taboulé (recipe below)
• 1 hard-boiled egg, halved
• beetroot salad (steamed beetroot diced and seasoned with vinaigrette)
• 2 red bean burgers with ketchup
• 2 cheese cubes
• 1/4 apple, sliced

What I liked about this bento

This was incredibly easy to prepare because of the simple ingredients: instant couscous, canned carrots, chickpeas, red beans, tuna, 2 eggs (one sliced and one in the taboulé), steamed beetroot and an apple. Nothing of this has to be fresh (can use canned or frozen vegetables) but all of it can be fresh if you have the ingredients at home and if you have a little more time.
Taboulé for me is a perfect thing to eat at lunch. It’s like a salad in which you can put whatever you enjoy and whatever is currently in season, with the sole difference that taboulé is a lot more filling than a salad due to the couscous. This is by no way an authentic taboulé, which is originally a Lebanese/Arabic dish that became a firm part of the French cuisine. It is normally made with shallots/onions, tomatoes, mint and lemon juice. My taboulé is a simple variation of this dish that is quickly made and tastes fantastic.

What I didn’t like about this bento

There was a little too much food. As I said, the taboulé in itself is quite filling so after eating it I had a really hard time finishing my first bean burger. I didn’t eat the second one.
Also I made the mistake to chop the mixture for the bean burgers in the food processor which made it way too soft. Normally the chunks of beans help keeping the burgers firm, so next time I’m going back to the crush with a fork method.

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Taboulé

Ingredients

• 100g uncooked instant couscous, medium sized
• 1/2 shallot
• 2 Tbsp of chopped and steamed carrots (can use canned carrots)
• other vegetables you like, for example peas
• 1 small can of tuna (not the one conserved in oil)
• 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
• 3-4 Tbsp of this vinaigrette, preferably the mustard variation

Preparation

1. Put the couscous in a middle sized bowl and fill the bowl with cold water to the same height as the couscous. Add a little salt and oil and stir well with a fork. Let the couscous absorb the water, which should take about 1 minute.
2. Cover the couscous with a microwave proof plate or lid and put it in the microwave. Cook the couscous for 1 minute at max power, let rest inside the microwave for two minutes.
3. Remove the couscous from the microwave and with a fork stir it well by being careful to seperate the grains. Couscous should not stick and have lumps, the grains should be loose. Try a little and see if the grains are cooked. If they aren’t fully cooked, repeat the micro-wave procedure once.
4. Add the vegetables, the tuna and the egg. Also add the vinaigrette and incorporate well. Refrigerate until use.

Serves 2, enjoy.