Toasting giant couscous / revisiting reliable recipes

I have been making a lot of things over again: as vegetable friends I haven't seen since last year turn up in the CSA I have been tending to return to things I made before and liked. Improvements and refinements instead of novelties. Also lots of salad. Familiarity feels good.

Beetroot (OK these haven't been absent since last year, but we have been getting a lot of them recently):
This is my favourite way of cooking beets. Becomes an instant salad if you peel+mash the roasted garlic, mix it through with some extra balsamic, let cool and keep in the fridge.

Carrot greens: I have never really prepped them any way other than this paste, because it's so so good.

Basil: pistachio pesto - need I say more?

Cucumbers+tomatoes: overnight couscous (and quicker variant)

Aubergines: caponata - excellent, especially with toasted couscous (see below); baba; miso aubergine

Courgettes, fennel, aubergines, peppers: roasted veg with harissa dressing and couscous / wheatberries (or, lately, orzo)

Peppers: muhammara

Yes, and, that giant couscous I mentioned - I have always found it a bit bland, and obviously it lacks the ready-in-ten-minutes-with-no-pans-involved charm of normal couscous. So this time I tried toasting it with a little olive oil in the pan for a few minutes, until lightly browned, before adding the water and cooking as usual (finishing with salt, pepper, olive oil and white wine). Sooooo much tastier! Definitely recommended if you have a few extra minutes!

Carrots, red lentils and big couscous

While S is away I've ended up spending a fair bit of time in the kitchen, trying to work my way through a backlog of vegetables. Having got more carrots in the CSA this week, I made an effort to get through all the titchy / odd-shaped ones still hanging around in the fridge from previous weeks - in this and piccalilli.

1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1 in piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
1 green chilli, seeds removed, chilli chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped 
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander seed
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
~6 medium carrots, peeled and diced fairly fine (~1cm)
3/4 cup red lentils
1/2 cup big couscous
1 1/2 cups veg stock
2 tsp honey
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp soy sauce
salt+pepper
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbsp parsley, chopped

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli, cover and cook for a couple of minutes until starting to soften. Add the onion and cook for a few more minutes. Add the ground spices and cook, uncovered, for 30-60 sec, until fragrant. Add the carrots and mix / cook for a minute, then add the lentils and couscous and mix well. Add the stock, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the lentils, carrots and couscous are all cooked. Add the honey, lime juice, soy sauce and taste for seasoning. Mix in the fresh herbs. Eat warm.


I was aiming for something between a soup, a stew and a pilaf, which is what I ended up with: a warming, one-pot, Autumn dinner. Processing all those weirdo carrots took awhile but it was kind of nice to be cosy in the kitchen and feel useful.

Overnight couscous

This recipe (5th one down) seemed made for these hot hot days/nights: loads of fresh veg and herbs and absolutely no cooking. I was excited about the process as well: the idea of using the juices from the veg to hydrate the couscous is simple but super smart. S doesn't always like couscous, but since his main complaints are that it can be wet and tasteless I thought this method could be a solution.

100g couscous
3 large, juicy tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ cucumber, peeled and diced
50g parsley, chopped
25g mint, chopped
2 tbsp chives, chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped (used 2 spring onions)
50g raisins
25g shelled pistachios
1-2 tbsp capers (or nasturtium seeds, or dry, salty black olives)
Juice of ½-1 lemon
Dash of hot sauce
Salt and black pepper

Put the couscous into a large bowl and add the tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, mint, chives, red onion, raisins, pistachios, capers and lemon juice. Mix well. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a few shakes of hot sauce. Cover, and leave in the refrigerator for at least 4-8 hours. Let it come to room temperature before serving.


All the herbs (chives, mint, parsley) came from my pots, which makes me proud. My herbs have done fairly well this year.

This was a huge success! It formed the basis of a fancy (but easy!) picnic (this, some bread, elderflower cordial and fizzy water / water, and a few fresh apricots) that we took to Shakespeare on the Common (Two Gentlemen of Verona, Vegas / Ratpack-style) and it worked brilliantly in several ways...

1) I could make it the night before and store it in the fridge so all I had to do before rushing out to the show was chuck it in a plastic box on the back of my bike, and it was perfect when we got there.
2) It simultaneously, preemptively solves the potential problems of couscous getting over-cooked or claggy, and of all the excess liquid that juicy veg like tomatoes and cucumber produce - the couscous is texturally perfect, and extra tasty because instead of just water it has soaked up all the juices; while the salad has a great overall texture with none of the messy liquid or wateriness that can plague this kind of thing, which also meant that the herbs and veg were in great shape after a day in the fridge.

...and S loved it (it was probably a good move mixing couscous with so much parsley - parsley is one of his all-time faves), so perhaps couscous can be on the menu sometimes after all. I am pretty enthused about this overnight method: feel like there is a lot of potential for experimentation.


Note: I tried a quicker version of this: add a little boiling water to the dry couscous, cover, leave for a bit, then toss. Then prep and add the other ingredients, juiciest first, tossing after each addition. Finally, taste for seasoning and acidity. By the time everything was prepped and added, the couscous was perfectly softened. The exact amount of water to add is guesswork, based on how juicy you think the other ingredients will be and how soon you want to eat it. This is a wonderfully summery dish, and happily adaptable - this time I had no parsley so used coriander, which obv tasted different but similar overall effect. Also subbed lime for lemon, spring onions for chives+red onions, currants for raisins...

Herby-couscous-crusted Portobello mushrooms

I hardly ever cook with couscous, despite its obvious advantages (so quick and easy!), as S is not a fan, texturally (one of the few things he doesn't like, so I can't complain). He was into this idea though, so we gave it a whirl.

~6 portobello mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed
1 cup couscous
boiling water
olive oil
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
~10 capers, chopped
~10 black olives, chopped
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp za'atar
juice of 1/2 lime
red wine vinegar
salt+pepper

Heat the oven to 450F. Put the couscous in a bowl and cover with boiling water (up to about 5 mm above the level of the couscous in the bowl). Cover the bowl with a lid or plate and leave to steam.

Meanwhile, heat ~1 tsp olive oil in a pan and then fry the sunflower and pumpkin seeds with a little salt. When lightly browned, transfer seeds to a bowl. Add another tsp of olive oil to the pan and when hot add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring often, until softened. Add the remaining ingredients (except the mushrooms), including the couscous (check it is soft and fluffy first), and taste for seasoning, adding vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Place the mushrooms on it, gill side up. Using a teaspoon, squish as much couscous mixture as you like all over the gill surface of each mushroom (I made them about an inch thick with couscous in the middle, curving down towards the edges - if you leave the stem on build the couscous mixture around it, if not just put it all over). Put in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the mushrooms are fragrant and have softened to release their juices, and the couscous on top is golden and crisp (the underneath couscous will still be soft, try a thinner layer if you'd rather it was all crispy).


Turns out that as the baking makes the upper layer of couscous crispy this creates some textural variety and defuses S's texture issues. I also enjoyed the combination of crispy outside and surprising, softly steaming, inner couscous with the juicy mushroom. Could have perhaps used even more herbs (double?), I thought, but anyway this was simple, comforting and subtly tasty.

Colourful, robust winter salads

We ended up eating at / from Whole Foods quite a lot while we were out West. It was S's idea. We arrived in Vegas and had one very uninspired meal with awful service, and then he had the idea of looking for local Whole Foods (apparently his buddy who runs learning-to-play-poker courses there stocks up at Whole Foods before getting going on the poker). We found a huge one in Henderson, and that was us sorted for the next few days.

A recurring Whole Foods salad theme was mixed grains and pulses. Which put me in the mood for more on our return. Here are a couple of variants:


Giant couscous, lentils, rice, cranberries and pumpkin seeds

3/4 cup giant / Israeli couscous, cooked in 1 cup water with 1/4 tsp turmeric for colour
1/2 cup brown and/or wild rice, cooked in 1 cup water
3/4 cup brown lentils, cooked in 1 1/2 cups veg stock with a bay leaf
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
~8 salty black olives, chopped
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt+pepper
wholegrain mustard
maple syrup

Mix olive oil, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup and seasoning in a medium bowl to make the dressing. Add the cooked, cooled couscous, rice and lentils and toss. Add the cranberries, pumpkin seeds, olives and coriander and mix up again. Taste to check seasoning / that there is enough dressing.


Massive couscous (moghrabieh), chickpeas, beetroot and sesame

3/4 cup moghrabieh, cooked in 1 cup water with 1/2 tsp turmeric for colour
1 cup chickpeas, cooked and defrosted
2-3 medium beetroot, boiled until tender, cooled and diced into ~1 cm dice
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp white sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1/2 tsp nigella seeds
juice of 1/2 lime
olive oil
red wine vinegar
salt+pepper

Put the pre-cooked and cooled couscous, chickpeas and chopped beetroot in a bowl, add the seeds and coriander and toss. Then add the dressing ingredients: oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt+pepper, quantities to taste (use plenty), toss and eat.

Moghrabieh (massive Lebanese couscous)

S is not a fan of normal sized couscous.  But, we discovered, he does like the larger one you see marketed as 'Israeli couscous' or 'Giant couscous'.  Mograbieh is even bigger than the giant stuff - cooked, the balls are almost big enough to be mistaken for chickpeas (which made me think it would be fun to mix them with chickpeas another time).  I found it in the Armenian stores (although I think it is Lebanese), and thought S might like it even more (perhaps because the bigger it gets, the more it is like pasta?).  I didn't feel like looking anything up yesterday, so I just cooked it how I thought it wanted to be cooked.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
3/4 tsp sumac
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup moghrabieh
2 cups veg stock
2 tbsp chopped curly parsley
salt+pepper

Heat the oil in a lidded frying pan, add the onion and sweat on a medium heat until well softened.  Remove the lid and cook until any liquid is gone and it is starting to brown.  Add the chilli, cumin, caraway, sumac and cinnamon and stir-fry for a minute or so until fragrant.  Add the moghrabieh and fry for a minute or so more, then add the veg stock, cover and cook until the moghrabieh are about doubled in size and the stock is all absorbed (about 25 min), adding the parsley and seasoning to taste in the last few minutes.  Bite one of the balls to make sure it is cooked through - they didn't go completely soft, remaining a bit of stodgy bite.  Cover and leave to steam for ten minutes or so when done, as you would with rice.


The texture of the moghrabieh was interesting (stodgy but chewy?) and I wondered if it was a little underdone?  But they tasted fine.  I liked the spice combination, with the red onion and parsley - it was warm and comforting.  Another time I might add (pre-cooked) chickpeas about halfway through the moghrabieh cooking time.

Orange-coloured food (giant couscous with apricots + rose harissa)

Turns out I am in the mood for orange-coloured food: lunch today is this apricot couscous, plus pumpkin salad, plus a raw carrot (have run out of fruit).  Perhaps I will turn orange.
This recipe is basically Nigel Slater's from here.  Was very keen to use some of the rose harissa I bought the other day.  With apricots sounded good - used dried not fresh - quite fancied the dried fruit : couscous combination.


150g giant couscous
300ml hot water / veg stock
olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
5 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
10-15 dried apricots, roughly chopped
2 tsp rose harissa
1/2 a lemon, juice and zest
~3 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt

Bring water to the boil in a saucepan, then add the couscous and boil for ~10 min.  Drain and refresh, then put in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onions, garlic and cardamom  pods until the onions are soft and pale.  Add the lemon zest and the apricots and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the apricot mixture to the couscous.  Mix the lemon juice in a bowl with the harissa, then add to the couscous.  Finally, add the parsley, mix well and taste for seasoning.


Mmhmm.  That worked.  Not spectacular but pleasant and interesting and subtle.  Not blown away by  my fancy rose harissa - can't really taste the rose.  Perhaps I overpowered it, will have to try again.

Chickpea lentil couscous salad and sauteed spinach

A worknight when both of us got home around 7.30, early and lucky.

Sauteed Spinach

Seb wanted to saute spinach 'like you did it, because it was better' - what I did was really simple but I told him anyway and he did it.  We had a huge bag of baby spinach from the Haymarket which was actually in great nick, but spinach doesn't last forever (unless it is in those weird alien bags).

large bag of baby spinach, washed
6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
~2 tbsp olive oil
salt+pepper
nutmeg

Heat the oil in a large frying pan.  Add garlic and fry gently until softened and just starting to colour.  Add the (washed) spinach.  Move around gently until it is almost done (cover if you like), then add salt, pepper and some grated nutmeg to taste.  Cook until the spinach is completely wilted.


Chickpea, lentil and saffron couscous salad

Fancied some fibrous pulses.

From this recipe.

225g couscous / 112g wholewheat couscous
½ tsp saffron strands / 1/4 tsp saffron
Salt and black pepper
260ml boiling water / 130ml boiling water (+maybe 20ml more as it looked like v little)
150g cooked chickpeas (tinned are OK) / ~75g but really just a bag of frozen cooked ones defrosted
150g cooked Puy lentils / ~75g
80g dried cranberries / handful - end of a packet
1 red endive, cut into 1cm-thick slices / none- didn't have any
2 spring onions, thinly sliced / 1 spring onion
4 tbsp chopped mint  / 2 tbsp mint
3 tbsp chopped coriander / 1.5 tbsp
3 tbsp chopped parsley / 1.5 tbsp
Grated zest of 2 lemons / zest of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed / 1/2 garlic clove
1 tsp nigella seeds
4 tbsp olive oil / 2 tbsp
Put the lentils on to cook (should take ~20-30min).  Put the couscous in a shallow bowl. Add the saffron and a pinch of salt to the boiling water, and pour this over the couscous to cover. Wrap the bowl in clingfilm and set aside for 15 minutes, so the couscous soaks up the liquid. Remove the clingfilm, fluff up the couscous with a fork, then set aside to cool down.  When ready, drain cooked lentils.
Transfer the cold couscous to a mixing bowl, add the chickpeas, lentils and cranberries, and toss. Add the (endive), spring onion, herbs, lemon zest, garlic and nigella seeds, stir gently to combine, then stir in olive oil and season to taste.
Serve this salad straight away, or chill it for up to 24 hours; the flavours actually improve over time. Before serving, bring back to room temperature and add more olive oil or seasoning as necessary.


Both were pretty simple and tasty.  The salad was good - perhaps a little dry?  Might add some lemon juice another time.   Am enjoying using a lot of fresh herbs - at the moment we have mint, basil, parsley, dill and coriander in the fridge, and I am getting better at adding them to a variety of things.