Cous Cous - All in!
August 3, 2010 5 Comments
I almost threw away the left over cous cous from our first dinner party but then something stopped me - rather one of the guests just decided to wrap it up in cling film and put it in the fridge. Thank you E! It meant that when I walked by auf die hand (the pretty but expensive cafe downstairs) a couple of days ago and saw a painfully hip chic eating a tabouleh salad I thought…
…”Mmm, that salad looks good. I wish I was eating it, I wish I had her sandals (and while I am busy wishing) - I wish I had her legs! I don’t know about those last two but…Wait a moment! Don’t I have some cous cous, boiled up and ready to go in the fridge?”
Indeed!
What ensued is this outstanding summer lunch salad!
Cous Cous - All in (Could serve 2 but in this case served just little ole’ me)
Ingredients:
my left over cous cous - or let’s say 100g dry cous cous
1 courgette
1/2 a red pepper
2 tablespoons of raisins steeped in boiling water for a half hour (don’t skip this step! Makes the raisins plump and extra sweet!)
a few strings of red currants or 3 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds(only because I had them from the pavlova the other night, but they are basically playing the role of pomegranates for me here - plus pomegranates seem hard to come by in Berlin)
a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon finely chopped mint
1 teaspoon or more (depending on how hot you like it) harissa paste
3 tablespoons olive oil
Method:
1. Cook the cous cous according to the packet instructions.
2. Fry the courgette in olive oil, adding salt and getting them nice and golden.
3. Dilute the harissa sauce in 3 tablespoons of olive oil
4. Toss everything together.
That’s lunch!
Yum, couscous… It also tastes great when cooked in juice (orange/apple or tomato) and then combined with hot spices or boiled in wine and combined with peas and Johannisbeeren (red currant)…
I haven’t heard of cooking in juice but it sounds like a good idea! Will try it next time.
Beautiful salad & so glad you didn’t waste the cous cous. It’s great thrown into North African style soups the next day too for starchiness (smile)!
Pomegranate juice you can get from the Turkish markets - they use it in tabbouleh
Yes thanks, I know that. I wanted fresh pomegranate seeds for this which you can get sometimes but not always. Those berries were a perfect substitute and much cheaper : )