Couscous Steamers

Mr. Food’s Veggie couscous is a one-pot side dish that packs a flavorful punch! Quick-cooking couscous is jazzed up with colorful, healthy veggies to make this exciting change-of-pace go-along!

Serves: 5

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 small onion, finely chopped
* 1 carrot, diced
* 1 small zucchini, diced
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 (14-1/2-ounce) can ready-to-serve chicken broth
* 1/4 cup water
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 (10-ounce) package couscous

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, zucchini, and garlic, and sauté 10 to 12 minutes, or until tender. Stir in broth, water, and salt; bring to a boil.

2. Stir in couscous; cover and remove from heat. Allow to sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork then serve.

1. Drain the capsicum, reserving 2 tablespoons of oil. Coarsely chop. Combine the salmon, 1 tablespoon of reserved oil and 2 teaspoons of spice mix in a bowl. Place the stock and remaining spice mix in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Add the couscous. Cover and set aside for 3 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Add the chopped capsicum and remaining reserved oil. Season with salt and pepper. Use a fork to separate the grains.

2. Meanwhile, combine the mint, chopped coriander, yogurt and water in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the salmon. Cook for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden and almost cooked through.

3. Cook the broccolini in a saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes or until bright green and tender crisp. Drain. Divide the couscous mixture and broccolini among serving dishes. Top with the salmon and yoghurt mixture. Serve with lemon wedges and coriander sprigs.

1 1/2 cups water

2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar or honey (to taste)

1 teaspoon orange flower water (optional; available at Middle Eastern markets)

3 tablespoons chopped dried apricots

2 tablespoons currants or raisins

1 tablespoon unsalted butter (optional)

1 cup couscous

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, to taste

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

2 navel oranges

6 dates, pitted and cut in quarters lengthwise

Pomegranate seeds for garnish

1. Combine the water and brown sugar or honey in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium, and boil gently until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the optional orange flower water, the chopped apricots and the raisins or currants, and set aside for five minutes.

2. Place the couscous in a 2-quart bowl, and add the cinnamon and salt. Stir together. Pour on the hot syrup. Mix together with a fork, spatula or wooden spoon, and set aside for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. At this point, if not eating right away, cover and refrigerate.

3. Shortly before serving, steam the couscous in one of two ways.

Line a strainer with a double layer of cheesecloth, and dump the couscous into the strainer. Then set above a pot with 1 inch of boiling water. Cover and steam for 15 minutes, making sure that the water is well below the couscous. Transfer to a bowl, add the butter, and toss together until the butter melts.

Alternatively, place the couscous in a microwave and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Microwave for two minutes. Carefully uncover, stir in the butter and cover again. Microwave for another two minutes. Remove the plastic, being careful of the steam in the bowl.

4. With a paring knife, peel away the skin and pith from the orange, holding it over the couscous so that any juice drips onto the couscous. Still holding the orange over the couscous, cut out the sections from between the membranes.

5. Pile the couscous into a mound on a platter, or spoon into individual serving bowls. Decorate with orange sections, date slices and pomegranate seeds, and serve.

Yield: Serves four to six.

Advance preparation: You can make the dish through step 3, and keep the couscous in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Martha Rose Shulman

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 spoon Knorr chicken powder
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/4 cup hot water

• 1 courgette – cut into small cubes
• 200g mushrooms – quartered
• 150g halloumi – cut into small cubes
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
• Salt

• 1 handful fresh parsley – coarsely chopped
• 1 handful fresh coriander – coarsely chopped
• 5 slices sundried tomatoes – coarsely chopped

• Fish sauce
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 Lemon’s juice

• Combine couscous, cumin powder, Knorr chicken powder, sugar and hot water in a large mixing bowl. Cover and let stand until water is absorbed, about 10 mins. Fluff with a fork.
• Heat up a bit of oil in a pan. Add courgette, mushrooms, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt, cook until dry. Add this to cooked couscous.
• Heat up a bit of oil in a non-stick pan. Add halloumi cheese and fry until all sides are browned. Add this to cooked couscous.
• Mix in parsley, coriander, sundried tomatoes and lemon juice.
• Add fish sauce and black pepper to taste.
• Enjoy!
  

For the duck:
2 duck breasts
oil to film pan
salt and pepper to season breasts
1 oz. truffle honey
½ teaspoon fennel pollen (optional)
1/4 cup chicken stock
butter

Two hours before serving time:
1. Score fatty side of duck breasts with a sharp knife, making diagonal markings. Season with salt & pepper. Place skin-side down in a saute pan over medium heat, allowing fat to render. Periodically drain pan, leaving approximately a Tablespoon of pan drippings.
2. Continue cooking until most fat has been rendered and skin has become crispy.
3. Refrigerate cooked breasts until you are ready to serve.

At serving time:
4. Place the breasts back in the pan, skin side down, and reheat. When hot, flip them over and let meat cook over medium heat (5-8) minutes. Remove from pan.
5. Deglaze pan with 1/4 cup chicken stock. Add 1oz honey. Add pinch (1/2 teaspoon) fennel pollen.
6. Let sauce reduce by one-third and swirl in pat of butter. Pour over breasts.

For the couscous:
1 cup couscous
chicken stock
¼ pound string beans, steamed and sliced diagonally
¼ pound baby carrots, steamed and sliced into rounds
3 TBSp. Crystallized ginger

1. Follow directions on package for preparing couscous, using chicken stock instead of water. Cover and set aside.
2. At serving time: re-heat vegetables in 1 tbsp. butter and two tablespoons of chicken stock. When hot, add to couscous., and fluff with fork. Stir in 2 Tbsp. crystalized ginger.
3. Garnish ducks with remaining ginger pieces

Ingredients:

• 5 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)
• Ingredients
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups uncooked couscous
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons diced pimento

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Wrap garlic in foil. Place garlic and corn on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt over corn.

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Unwrap garlic, and mince. Combine garlic, corn, broth, water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan.

Bring to a boil; gradually stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; stir in onions and pimento.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 193 (7% from fat) Fat: 1.5g (sat 0.3g,mono 0.2g,poly 0.4g) Protein: 7.7g Carbohydrate: 40.1g Fiber: 3.5g Cholesterol: 1mg Iron: 1.3mg Sodium: 277mg Calcium: 13mg

3 cups cooked couscous*
1/2 a basket of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 cup cooked chickpeas

1 lemon, cut in half
1 lime, cut in half
about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup basil or cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

Combine the couscous, tomatoes, cucumber, and chickpeas in a large bowl. Lori – squeezes the lemon and lime juice directly into the bowl, so start by giving a good squeeze of lemon and lime juice into the bowl, add the olive oil, and some salt and pepper. Toss well, taste, and adjust with more of the above until it tastes just right. Lori notes – this really needs a generous amount of salt, and the lemon and lime juices might need to be adjusted depending on how juicy the fruit is.

Add the basil and feta and toss gently until it is evenly dispersed.

Serves 4 – 6.
*To cook the couscous: Either follow the package instructions or bring 3 1/2 cups of water to a boil, stir in a scant 2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt and 2 cups of couscous. Cover and remove from heat. Steam for 5 to 10 minutes and then use a fork to fluff up the couscous.

[via]

I just recently became a big fan of couscous.  I had eaten it before – usually as a muted little side dish, but never as the star of the meal.  I love the texture of it … the way it rolls around and pops in your mouth.  Delicious!  I was staring in my cupboard and refrigerator today wondering what I would have for lunch and this box of couscous stared back at me …

So, I got out my cutting board and chopped up a red pepper, halved some grape tomatoes, shredded a carrot, performed a chiffonade on some fresh basil leaves, and peeled two mandarin oranges.  I poured 1 cup of boiling water over 1 cup of the couscous, covered it, and let it sit for five minutes.  When it was ready, I fluffed it, added a pat of butter and my veggie/citrus mix.  Then I stirred in about a tablespoon of honey and squeezed in the juice of one orange.  That’s it!  Serve warm or chilled!  Would be great with some almond slivers tossed in too!

You can follow Shannon Young on her blog (Furious Shirley) or on twitter

6 cups cooked couscous (3 cups before cooking, then prepare per package instructions)
1 large ripe red tomato, chopped
1 cucumber, cut into cubes
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, diced
Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a big bowl and mix well. That’s it. Keep cool before serving.