Recipe - Black Bean Corn Salsa Couscous

Tomorrow's Cinco de Mayo! Does this mean tequila, tequila, tequila for you? I hope you're balancing that out with something healthy at the very least, hah. I compiled together a tasty recipe that actually is very simple though looks complex. By looks complex, I mean that it is very colorful and sure to impress. The cool thing about it also is that you can have it hot or cold; I had it both ways and it brings out different types of tastes since the colder version is more reminiscent of the salsa feel. Anyhow, let's get to it!

Step 1: Ingredients (yields 6-8 servings)

oil
1 medium red onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, seeds removed & diced
2 cups whole corn kernels
2 cups couscous, dry
2 cups black beans, cooked and drained (about 1 standard can)
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tsps taco seasoning
1 tsp garlic salt
2 medium Roma tomatoes, seeds removed & diced
1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
hot sauce choice, optional

Step 2: Prepping the ingredients
Dice onion, bell pepper, and tomatoes. Chop cilantro. Keep separately. Place a large pot on medium-high heat and add just enough oil to coat the bottom. Once hot, add in diced red onions.

Step 3: Mixing
Stir until just onions are just starting to turn translucent (~2-3 minutes). Then add red bell pepper for another 2 minutes. Quickly add in corn and stir for approximately another 2 minutes. Add couscous and coat well in the oils. Add black beans. Stir for another 2 minutes before adding in broth. The broth will cause the couscous to expand. To prevent it from burning at the bottom of the pot, make sure to stir every once in a while. When the liquid is nearly all absorbed, season with taco seasoning and garlic salt.

Step 4: Finishing
When everything is thoroughly mixed, turn off heat and add in tomatoes and cilantro. You don't want these to overcook. Before serving (you can do hot or cold), you can add some sort of hot sauce to give it some heat. I used a Caribbean lime chile sauce from Slapfish that gave a spicy sour kick. Alternatively, I suppose you could add some jalapenos into the couscous but this is a better way to ensure everyone adjusts their individual heat accordingly.