Spicy Lebanese Couscous Soup

I hear often that people don't like to cook because it's too much work (or too much food) for just one human. As with all things, though, I think cooking for one is about what you cook and how you look at it. 

Cooking for one can be like putting on the perfect outfit: exactly right for the weather, makes you feel good from the inside out, and SPICY. (somewhere that simile fell apart.)

Cooking for one means the only taste you have to account for is your own. Do you like things so salty you could float in them? Do you find there's no such thing as too much pasta? Too many herbs? So much spice you sweat through the dirty t-shirt that you may or may not be wearing as you sit on the couch watching hulu in the dark? 

And if you're cooking soup for one, you have the joy and anticipation of knowing that it will only be better the next day when you reheat it for another lonely but perfectly self-indulgent meal.  

To my tastes, this soup was my cooking-for-one heaven/nirvana/Valhalla/Rivendell/whatever-works-for-you. I mean, look at all these spices:

thassalotta spices

You know that made my apartment smell like I was living IN THE DREAMS of a Yankee Candle, and my lips tingle like a 13-year-old who just stumbled through her first kiss.

Unlike a lot of greedily-eat-alone-on-the-couch comfort foods (Easy Mac, Hello Honey, Doritos & cottage cheese), this one you can actually feel good about. It's pretty darn healthful and eating it makes you feel better in a physical way, not the fleeting way that makes you wanna cry afterward. 

Lebanese Couscous, if you haven't had it, is delightful. It's like Israeli Couscous only even more mega-sized, and each little ball soaks up every flavor you add to it like a CHAMP. It's also fun that no one can decide upon the spelling of its real name--I'm partial to "moghrabieh." As awesome as it is to add those pasta flavor bombs here, you could definitely make this soup without -- just amp up the bean input a little. In Cincinnati, you can get a big package of them for just $1.99 at Dean's in Findlay Market, and a little will go a long way.

Holy cow I can't wait to eat this again tomorrow. 

Also, I only used about half a can of fava beans, which means I have enough left for a hearty Egyptian breakfast in the morning. See how resourceful cooking for one can be? 

If I didn't make it clear enough, this soup is heavily spiced. Consider that fair warning. Pardon me, but I'm gonna go sneak bites out of the refrigerator now.

Spicy Lebanese Couscous Soup
Inspired by the spices in this recipe, for which I haven't been able to find an original source. I think mine is better anyway (but that's just me).
Serves about 4.

GET THIS STUFF

olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 c grape tomatoes, chopped
1 small leek, white and light green parts sliced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 small stick of cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t smoked paprika
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 t cayenne
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t ginger
pinch of saffron, crumbled between your fingers
4 c vegetable broth
1/2 c moghrabieh (Lebanese couscous)
2/3 c canned fava beans, rinsed
2/3 c frozen green garbanzo beans
1/2 of a lemon, juiced
chopped fresh Italian parsley
feta cheese

DO THIS WITH IT

Heat oil over medium heat and add shallot, garlic and tomatoes. 
Stir occasionally to keep from sticking, and cook for about five minutes.
Add leek, bell pepper and carrot and stir around for a few more minutes.
Add all spices and stir until well combined and very fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
Add in broth and moghrabieh, bring to a boil, then turn down to a steady simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add fava beans and green garbanzos and cook another 10 or so, until couscous is cooked through.
Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
Season to taste (I added nothing here) and serve topped with parsley and a sprinkle of feta.