I know I do go on about Couscous from time to time, but I am an evangelical fan!
I love all the stages of making Couscous. I love preparing the meat and vegs (below) for the Tagine, I enjoy the cooking process, and of course I enjoy eating the result. The preparation of the couscous itself is simply a matter of introducing the grains of couscous to some boiling water.
Ingredients for Tagine: Cheap cuts of either Lamb or Chicken, Chunky cut Aubergine, Courgette, Potato, Peppers, some chopped Preserved Lemon, a small tin of Chickpeas, Cumin powder, Ras al Hanout, a squirt of Harissa, garlic, and S & P. This is slow cooked in the morning for about an hour, then re-heated when required. I made enough (above) for two days. Serve with the heated Couscous.
To prepare Couscous (for the uninitiated): Pour grains into a glass bowl, then only just cover with boiling water. After a couple of minutes begin to separate the grains with a fork, continue every few minutes until you have a bowl of individual swelled grains. Put aside.
Personally I add a tiny splash of olive oil, some dried mint, cumin seeds, some turmeric (I like the colour), and salt to the Couscous, before giving one further mix and popping into the microwave for 1.5 mins. Your Couscous it now ready; it should be light and fluffy.
We eat Couscous at least once a week, and I never tire of it. Once one is used to the process it becomes a really simple dish to prepare. This one (above) which was leftovers from the previous day, was accompanied by some merguez sausages which I recently bought in Dieppe. We ate it last night.
People often say to me that it all looks so complicated, but it isn't at all. And for those who've never eaten Couscous, I say DO SO IMMEDIATELY.
14 comments:
Unfortunately, no couscous here being wheat and not gluten free so I substitute rice always with turmeric.
Sainsbury's do giant couscous. It's absolutely delicious!
One can buy most things 'gluten free', I'm surprised they don't do gluten free Couscous. Maybe they do somewhere.
I prefer the ordinary, but the 'giant' makes a very good Taboulé.
I love couscous but am not sure if I shall be able to eat any more wheat based foods now. So tiresome.
That's so annoying. There must be alternatives.
We used to eat couscous. We seem to have forgotten about it recently. Probably because K is becoming more traditional in his eating as he grows older. And it's not on my menu any more.
The tangible though is definitely on the menu, or something similar. Very tasty.
Lady M is lucky having a cook in the house
Tangine of course
Lady M provides all our sweet things, I do all the savoury. Yes, a tagine can be eaten with almost anything, it doesn't have to be Couscous.
Your instructions for preparation makes it sound doable for me. I will give it a try. I would try yours but my spoon is too short to reach through the computer to you. :)
Just lick the screen, you should get a taste of it!
This sounds easy enough and I do love the taste of cumin. You and Lady M have a great system for cooking and baking.
I can still remember the day I first tasted Cumin. I was amazed. I have been a huge fan ever since.
I frequently think I'll buy some couscous to cook myself, havng frequently enjoyed it in restaurants. Somehow I forget to add it to the shopping list. There's an unopened jar of cumin in cupboard just begging to be used!
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