It doesn’t take much to turn summer vegetables into a light supper. Here a sauté of summer squash and corn joins up with pearl cous cous (and plenty of flavor from garlic, citrus and herbs) to make a delicious vegetarian supper or wonderful side for meat or fish.

A variation of this recipe originally appeared in my cookbook, Simple Green Suppers (Roost, 2017).

A new twist: In July of 2025, I combined this recipe with Quick Herb and Lemon Marinated Grilled Squid, replacing the zucchini with bell peppers. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see more details on this variation.

Serves 3 to 4

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup small-diced onion (I used purple spring onions, but yellow onions are fine)
• 1 cup pearl cous cous
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups small-diced summer squash or zucchini, or a combination (about 10 ounces) 
• 1 ½ cups fresh corn kernels (from about 3 ears)
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon or lime juice, more to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, cilantro, basil, thai basil, parsley or any combination

1. In a large saucepan (which has a lid), melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-low heat. Add ¼ cup of the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions have softened and are beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes.

2. Add the cous cous and ½ teaspoon salt. Raise the heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until much of the cous cous has taken on some browning, 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of the ground coriander and stir.

3. Add 1 ¼ cups water to the pan, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the water has been absorbed and the cous cous is tender, 9 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat. Fluff the cous cous with a fork, cover, and keep warm in the pan.

4. In a large (12-inch) nonstick skillet, heat the remaining butter and the olive oil over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the remaining ¾ cup onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are softened and just starting to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. 

5. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the squash and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, until the squash is somewhat shrunken and browned on some sides, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the corn kernels and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the corn is glistening, bright, and slightly shrunken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and the remaining teaspoon of coriander and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until fragrant and well mixed, about one minute.

6. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for a couple minutes. Sprinkle two teaspoons of the lemon or lime juice over the sauté and stir and scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the cooked couscous to the pan, stir, and season with fresh pepper. Stir in most of the herbs and taste for seasoning. Add more salt, pepper, or citrus juice to taste.

7. Serve garnished with the remaining herbs.

 
VARIATION:

Corn, Bell Pepper, and Pearl Cous Cous with Quick Lemon-and-Herb Marinated Grilled Squid.

1. Prepare the recipe for Quick Lemon-and-Herb Marinated Grilled Squid up to a day ahead. The recipe calls for 1/2 pound or 8 squid bodies, but I had much larger squid that totaled about 3/4 pounds, so I used them and added more lemon and herbs. I also added chopped fresh ginger and a few splashes of tamari to the marinade. I used mostly basil and some mint for my herbs. Don't marinate the squid for much longer than an hour. 

2. After grilling the squid, cool and store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a day. Bring to room temperature before continuing. Alternatively, grill right before assembling the finished dish. (It's nice to have the squid warm and fresh from the grill but not necessary.) Before continuing with the recipe, slice the grilled squid bodies thinly and slice the squid tentacles into a few pieces.

3. Prepare the corn and pearl couscous recipe, substituting colorful, small-diced bell peppers for the zucchini, but using a bit less bell pepper than you would zucchini and increasing the amount of corn. ( I used 2 cups corn and 1 heaping cup of diced bell peppers, as well as the 1 cup sliced spring onions. I also added a little bit of smoked paprika, because I was low on ground coriander.) Prepare 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice rather than 2 teaspoons. Have a few extra citrus wedges on hand as well.

3. After you finish cooking the couscous and corn recipe and have slid the pan off the heat to sit for a minute, add 2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice and stir well. Add the sliced squid, and before stirring, sprinkle them with 2 teaspoons lemon juice and most of the herbs. Stir gently to combine everything. Taste a spoonful of the finished dish and add more salt or citrus juice if needed, or garnish plates or serving platter with citrus wedges. Garnish with remaining herbs and serve warm.