How to cook and what to do with couscous?

[barbamama]

Mumsnet guru chefs, please tell me how to a) cook couscous and b)what to do with it once cooked.

You can't beat Claudia Roden - her technique for couscous is great, so I am shamelessly pasting her recipe. If you do want hot couscous, stick it in a hot oven, covered with foil for about 20 mins after you've soaked, left and fluffed it up.

Couscous salad

This substantial salad is easy to make for a large company and can be prepared in advance, as it does not spoil. The couscous does not need cooking, only soaking in water until it is tender.

serves 6-8
preparation time: 30 minutes, plus about 50 minutes standing

250g couscous
300ml cold water
juice of 1or 1,5 lemons, or to taste
6 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)
3 firm, medium-sized tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
8 spring onions, sliced
4 tbsps chopped fresh parsley a few sprigs of fresh mint, chopped
12 black or green olives, pitted and chopped (optional)
salt and pepper

Put the couscous in a bowl, add the water and stir well. Leave to stand for about 20 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed. Fluff the couscous up by rubbing it between your hands and break up any lumps.

For the dressing, mix together the lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil with some salt and pepper and add the lemon zest, if you like. Stir into the couscous and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes, until it has absorbed the dressing.

Just before serving, add the tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, parsley, mint and olives, and mix well.

in general i would say that cous cous comes into its own when served with something very saucey - it absorbs the liquid and its flavour and can therefore be delicious. i do it with a chicken dish that cooks in loads of olive oil and white wine

Dull As when on its own

i also sometimes do a herby grilled veg cous cous "salad" - but it does need a sauce (minty yoghurt) to stop it being crumbly and dry

To cook cous cous you just bung it in some water and heat. I agree it's bland on it's own though. I love it cooked with a light lemon sauce, coriander, sultanas and chick peas. Yum!

To serve hot with grilled fish/veg I make it in a pyrex bowl - add boiling water or veg stock, cover and stand for 5 mins or so to absorb then fluff gently with a fork. Then I stir in some chopped preserved/pickled lemon (got ours from Tesco), pine nuts and somtimes some sundried tomatoes in oil. Somtimes some fresh basil/mint, sometimes some chickpeas. Not very authentic but very tasty!

I like my cous cous with roasted veg, not with sauces, I usually cover it with freshly boiled water, bung it in the oven and bake it with butter, knobs of, on top, herbs added to taste... sometimes some wedges of lemon, and it is lovely and warm and fluffy....

it was nigel slater who suggested roasting it in one of his books...

Fabbo delia dish

Cook the cous cous in white wine and safron. Ues the cooked cous cous to coat salmnon filled that you have dipped in beaten egg.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes and serve with a fresh olive and tomato vinegrette

Blissful!