Tasty recipes with coucous

[ifonly4]

I've just come across two bags of coucous (DD bought them and then went on a year abroad with uni!). Any ideas what I could make with them - DH doesn't like anything to mushy (ie not a dahl, but would easy veggie chunks with pulses.

Have lots of lentils (DDs again!), other pulses, cans tomatoes and can easily get other things to add. We're mainly on a fish and vegetarian diet.

It’s very often served with falafel or tagine. Jamie Oliver has a recipe called quickest white fish tagine, but I prefer the BBC Good Food recipe with saffron and almonds. I’ve also made this tagine a few times and it’s very quick and straightforward.
realfood.tesco.com/recipes/sweet-potato-falafel-with-tomato-couscous.html This is one of the best falafel recipes I’ve used. The falafels are baked instead of fried and don’t fall apart.
In the summer I make salad when it’s too hot to cook. Also makes a great lunchbox filler.

I have it most often with roast veggies - roasting tin with sliced red onion, peppers, courgettes, cherry tomatoes etc. When roasted, layer with couscous, then rocket leaves, then the roast veg. Crumble some feta over and have with harissa for a bit of a kick.

Apart from that I use couscous in place of rice, eg with chilli or veggie sausages and tomato sauce.

Or with a vaguely Moroccan ratatouille eg
www.easypeasyfoodie.com/chickpea-ratatouille-and-couscous/

Roast a load of vege - chunky onions or shallots, peppers, mushrooms, courgettes etc plus cherry tomatoes. Paprika, cinnamon, cumin. When nearly done add a teaspoon of honey, some black olives, bit of lemon juice, some snipped up dried apricots or dates and a drained tin of chickpeas - back in the oven to warm through. fresh herbs if you've got them. It's not authentic but a kind of cheat's tagine. Seve with the cous cous, maybe with some flaked almonds and more fresh herbs stirred into it.

It makes a good stuffing for an oily fish. I make up a smallish quantity and add zest and juice of half a lime and some chopped green herbs. Use it to stuff a gutted mackeral or sandwich two fillets together. (recipe is a Leiths one).

You can use it to make a "crumble" style topping for a ratatouille bake as well.

I make a sort of meal base I know, sounds delicious right with couscous.

Basically -- heat oil in a pan, chuck in a grated/diced garlic clove and some Mexican spice powder (or anything a bit spicy and paprika-y will work). Heat, add about 60g of couscous per adult and enough stock to cover. (I use chicken stock but Bouillon or veggie stock works well too.) Stick a lid on the pan and let it soak in for about 15 minutes. Then stir in some crumbled feta, maybe some diced olives if you fancy.

I usually do it with air-fried chicken pieces myself but have also done it with roasted vegetables, baked salmon or smoked haddock fillets, or grilled halloumi.

ETA on the above - take the pan off the heat when the lid goes on.

And if I'm doing it with grilled halloumi I don't add feta - turns out there is such a thing as too much cheese.

I use it a lot in the summer as an accompaniment to things like chicken breast, salmon fillets, sliced ham. I make it up with chicken or vegetable stock and serve it hot or cold.
Depending what it’s to go with I add things like chopped peppers, olives, chopped preserved lemons, chopped cucumber, sliced radishes, chopped dates, chopped apricots, chopped celery, tomatoes, garlic, herbs etc etc.

In winter, I serve it hot with various stews, probably just adding herbs and garlic, as it soaks up the flavour of the gravy.

often cook 8n stock and add chopped herbs and tinned lentils or chickpeas add roasted veg and pop grilled goats cheese on top…