How to make couscous taste of something...?!

[jingleboo]

It would be a great healthy quick lunch for me and DS if only i could flavour it, but have no clue where to start with herbs and spices. How do i make it taste of something?! Gutted i can't have the ready made stuff from the supermarket as i'm pregnant and would worry about eating it...

stock a good vege one and a good glug of olive oil. I use the liquid stuff(stock I mean) coriander and lemon or lime goes nicely, sometimes I''ll a dash of mint sauice too.

Dont put all the flavours in one batch though

when you cook it, add a big knob of butter, then add lots of salt and pepper, olive oil, lemon juice if you want...lots and lots and lots of parsley and mint chopped up fine,then whatever you want, pinenuts raisins etc

Dry fry pine nuts until slightly browned, mix with the cous cous and a few raisins. Good with chicken & salad.

Califrau most of the ready ones are full of cack. i would not give them to my kids

Lemon juice, parsley, petit pois, grated carrot is my 4yo dd's favourite combination.

Or with tinned mixed beans, garlic, chopped cherry tomatoes and spring onions?

Good knob of butter when you're making it, then season with sea salt and black pepper.

Then I stir in:

finely chopped red pepper
sometimes finely chopped mild green chilli
finely chopped onion or shallot
juice of a lemon or a lime
chopped fresh coriander
EV olive oil

ummm . Sprinkle a little Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon powder on it before pouring on the water. Not v sophisticated but does make it taste of something not too disgusting.

You can actually buy cous cous seasoning in pots at Tesco - next to herbs and spices.

Otherwise it's really nice with roasted peppers mixed in, and some flavoured oil if you fancy it.

Also v quick. But is one of my shameful cooking secrets.

a little bit of tomato puree, mush it all the way through - also (already suggested I think) lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper

• look at kisir/tabbouleh recipes and substitute couscous for the bulgar

What are you serving it with jingleboo? It's usually the sauce that adds the flavour (or at least that's how they do it in Morocco). It needs something with it, a nice spicy tagine, a vegetable stew, somehing like that.

Or make it into a salad with lots of seasoning, olive oil, lemon juice, corriander, chickpeas, cut up salad veg, chunks of cooked sweet potato or butternut squash, a sprinkling of cinnamon and cumin, and a handful of raisins.

Oh and it may be frowned upon here on MN, but I always add some salt to the water, just like I would for rice or pasta.

My dp makes lovely cous cous....he uses veg stock...and then adds chopped tomato, cucumber, spring onions and seasons....it is gorgeous and healthy!!

Just make it with marigold stock then add some olive oil. Any chopped veg is nice in it if you can be bothered - as well as suggestions here, peppers, spring onions, red onion, sultanas, roasted veg, tomatoes. I also like it mixed with salad

My DS loves it with a blob of pesto mixed in.

oh yes, good idea vacua, couscous tabbouleh! yum

Roast your veg (peppers, cougettes, red onion, etc) and add them in your cous cous. Super healthy and yummy!

I tend to chop up onion, red pepper, yellow pepper, gently fry them off whilst mixing the couscous with chicken stock fry off pine nuts, if I have chicken meat left over from a roast I will mix that in.
I stir it all together with fresh corriander and eat it as a meal on its own or as a side dish to lamb (without the added chicken meat!)

Buy a jar of harissa.
They have it in my sainsbury;s on the speecial selection shelf. Stir in half a tea spoon and it adds a bit of spice and flavour. Probably not good for little ones unless they can cope with spices.

coscous is like rice, or pasta, or bread or potatos. it is the carb part of a meal which needs to be eaten with something. just eat it the way you would the other stuff

cook it in wine and saffron!

fabbo

use stock instead of water to make it.

chop up marinated artichokes/sundried tomatoes/olives and stir in once cous cous is made.

toast pinenuts and sprinkle on top.

if you live near a north african/middle eastern grocer dried pomegranate seeds are fabulous put in before the stock so they expand a bit.

harrissa good with cous cous.

basically add what you like

Thank you! I really like the ready made up ones so am always disappointed with my own but will give your ideas a try. Especially like the roasted peppers idea. DS is better with spicy things than me!