This is a very green salad, that goes well with chicken. It's probably a complete waste of asparagus, but I had a couple of stalks leftover from something I'd made the other day, so I chucked it in.
This makes enough for 4 adults, if you're using it as a side-dish. You'll need:
1 green pepper, diced
1 medium courgette, chopped into chunks
a couple of spring onions, sliced
4 or 5 stalks of asparagus, sliced
olive oil
butter
black pepper
100g couscous
a handful of raisins
a few flaked almonds
Fry the pepper and spring onions in a good slug of olive oil for 3 or 4 minutes, until they've softened. Add the courgette, and cook for another 3-4 minutes, and finally the asparagus (that'll only need a couple of minutes).
In the meantime, melt a knob of butter in a large pan. Add the couscous, and stir round for a minute or two on a low heat. Pour in some hot water (you need the couscous to be covered by about a centimetre), and allow it to become absorbed (this might take a couple of minutes). Test the couscous - if it's really hard still, add a little more water, and give it another minute. Turn the heat off and cover the pan with a plate so the steam can't escape. Leave for 4-5 minutes.
Fluff up the couscous with a fork, and tip into the pepper/courgette/asparagus mixture. Mix everything carefully together, and season with lots of black pepper. Scatter the raisins and flaked almonds on the top.
You may find you need a little olive oil drizzled on top when you serve it (or maybe a squeeze of lemon juice). Some chopped flatleaf parsley would also be nice.
Showing posts with label couscous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label couscous. Show all posts
28 April 2009
02 October 2008
Pepper and chickpea couscous
It was a leftovers kind of night - there was some pastry left from yesterday's quiches, and tomato sauce from the night before's sausage, roasted vegetables and couscous. Magically, these became pizza, to be eaten with salad and some chickpea couscous.
You'll need
5 handfuls of dried couscous
a little butter
half a large red pepper, chopped
an onion, finely chopped
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
a can of chickpeas
Stick a little knob of butter in a non-stick pan, and let it melt. Add the couscous, and swirl it about in the butter for a couple of minutes. (If you wanted a spiced couscous, you could add a teaspoon of ras al hanout at this point). Add enough water to cover the top of the couscous by about half a centimetre, and leave on a low heat for a couple of minutes until it's been absorbed. Have a try of the couscous - if it's still too gritty and hard, give it a stir, add a little more water, and take off the heat. When you come back to it in a couple of minutes, it should be done, and you should be able to fluff it up with a fork.
Fry the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened. Add the pepper, and cook until everything is soft. Drain the chickpeas and add to the mixture. Take off the heat, and add in the cooked couscous. Chuck a bit of salt and pepper over the top, and you're good to go. If you've got some flat leaf parsley hanging around that looks quite nice finely chopped and scattered on top.
You'll need
5 handfuls of dried couscous
a little butter
half a large red pepper, chopped
an onion, finely chopped
a clove of garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper
a can of chickpeas
Stick a little knob of butter in a non-stick pan, and let it melt. Add the couscous, and swirl it about in the butter for a couple of minutes. (If you wanted a spiced couscous, you could add a teaspoon of ras al hanout at this point). Add enough water to cover the top of the couscous by about half a centimetre, and leave on a low heat for a couple of minutes until it's been absorbed. Have a try of the couscous - if it's still too gritty and hard, give it a stir, add a little more water, and take off the heat. When you come back to it in a couple of minutes, it should be done, and you should be able to fluff it up with a fork.
Fry the onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until softened. Add the pepper, and cook until everything is soft. Drain the chickpeas and add to the mixture. Take off the heat, and add in the cooked couscous. Chuck a bit of salt and pepper over the top, and you're good to go. If you've got some flat leaf parsley hanging around that looks quite nice finely chopped and scattered on top.
13 August 2008
Roast vegetables, feta and couscous
It's another 'chop lots of things up then bung in the oven and wait for a bit' recipe. Your dad's favourite, actually, though he prefers his with pasta rather than couscous.
First of all, you'll need some vegetables to roast - today's included:
half a butternut squash
a pepper
a couple of onions
a couple of large tomatoes that were in the reduced to clear section cos they were slightly squishy
Courgettes are always good, as are baby tomatoes, pieces of carrot, red onions, parsnips...depends on the time of year, really.
Anyway, stick the oven on hot - 200 degrees C or so, chop everything up to roughly the same size, drizzle with lots of olive oil and season with lots of black pepper. You could make this herby by adding some dried Mediterranean herbs, or spicy if you add some chilli flakes or chopped up fresh chillies. If you add a stick or two of cinnamon and some star anise, it starts to turn a little more Middle Eastern.
Roast until the squash is squishy (I've always wanted to say that). Chop some feta cheese into large chunks, and make some couscous. If your roast vegetables are on the plainer side, you could add some ras al hanout to the couscous to make it more interesting. Assemble on a plate, and then serve.
We ate ours in front of the telly, while watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. You were long since fast asleep...
First of all, you'll need some vegetables to roast - today's included:
half a butternut squash
a pepper
a couple of onions
a couple of large tomatoes that were in the reduced to clear section cos they were slightly squishy
Courgettes are always good, as are baby tomatoes, pieces of carrot, red onions, parsnips...depends on the time of year, really.
Anyway, stick the oven on hot - 200 degrees C or so, chop everything up to roughly the same size, drizzle with lots of olive oil and season with lots of black pepper. You could make this herby by adding some dried Mediterranean herbs, or spicy if you add some chilli flakes or chopped up fresh chillies. If you add a stick or two of cinnamon and some star anise, it starts to turn a little more Middle Eastern.
Roast until the squash is squishy (I've always wanted to say that). Chop some feta cheese into large chunks, and make some couscous. If your roast vegetables are on the plainer side, you could add some ras al hanout to the couscous to make it more interesting. Assemble on a plate, and then serve.
We ate ours in front of the telly, while watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. You were long since fast asleep...
11 August 2008
Sausages with spicy tomato and chickpea couscous
A bit of a cheat, really, as the only thing I cooked today was the sausages and couscous - the sauce was made a few weeks ago and has been languishing in the freezer for a day when we got in late. We spent the afternoon in Leazes Park feeding the ducks, clambering in the playground and eating ice cream, so there really wasn't much time to be terribly creative for tea.
To feed all three of us, you need
6 large sausages (3 for your Dad, 2 for me and 1 for you - although you often nick some of mine as well...)
tin of tomatoes
one onion, sliced
tin of chickpeas
tomato puree
cinnamon/cumin, maybe a little paprika
veg - a pepper/courgette/aubergine, whatever you've got
a clove of garlic
Fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil until they're translucent. Add the pepper/courgette/whatever, and fry for a couple of minutes more until they soften slightly. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and cumin, and if you'd like it spicy a teaspoon of hot paprika or chilli powder/flakes, and a squeeze of tomato puree. Fry for a minute or two.
Then add your tomatoes, and probably half a tomato tin of water. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes. Add your chickpeas, and cook for another 15 minutes minimum - it'd benefit from about an hour altogether, I reckon.
Cook your sausages - I quite like bunging them in the oven, or grilling them. You could also put them into the sauce to cook - just put them in at the same time as the chickpeas, and make sure you cook them for at least half an hour.
Serve the sauce sloshed over some couscous (about 6 handfuls-worth of grains seems to work for the three of us), with some green salad. There's usually enough sauce left to stick a couple of portions in the freezer.
To feed all three of us, you need
6 large sausages (3 for your Dad, 2 for me and 1 for you - although you often nick some of mine as well...)
tin of tomatoes
one onion, sliced
tin of chickpeas
tomato puree
cinnamon/cumin, maybe a little paprika
veg - a pepper/courgette/aubergine, whatever you've got
a clove of garlic
Fry the onion and garlic in some olive oil until they're translucent. Add the pepper/courgette/whatever, and fry for a couple of minutes more until they soften slightly. Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and cumin, and if you'd like it spicy a teaspoon of hot paprika or chilli powder/flakes, and a squeeze of tomato puree. Fry for a minute or two.
Then add your tomatoes, and probably half a tomato tin of water. Bring to the boil, and then simmer for 15 minutes. Add your chickpeas, and cook for another 15 minutes minimum - it'd benefit from about an hour altogether, I reckon.
Cook your sausages - I quite like bunging them in the oven, or grilling them. You could also put them into the sauce to cook - just put them in at the same time as the chickpeas, and make sure you cook them for at least half an hour.
Serve the sauce sloshed over some couscous (about 6 handfuls-worth of grains seems to work for the three of us), with some green salad. There's usually enough sauce left to stick a couple of portions in the freezer.
02 August 2008
Mediterranean vegetables, halloumi and couscous
I made this a while ago when your Gran and Grandpa were here, but then I gave Gran the vegetarian cookery book I filched the recipe from, so I've no idea if this is the same thing or not.
Makes enough for four:
an onion, sliced
a clove of garlic, chopped
two peppers (red/yellow/green/orange - doesn't really matter), sliced into chunks
a courgette, sliced
some mushrooms, quartered
(you could also add aubergine, or whatever else is lying around)
a tin of tomatoes, and a squirt of tomato puree
herbs - some thyme, oregano, mediterranean herbs - whatever you've got really
couscous (about 1/4 of a 500g bag - depends how greedy the people are that you're cooking for, I suppose)
a block of Greek halloumi cheese (couple of hundred grams or so...)
Fry the onions and garlic in some olive oil until they are translucent. Add the peppers, cook for a couple of minutes until they soften, and then bung in the courgette and mushrooms (you might have to add a little more olive oil at this point. Cook for a couple more minutes, then add the tin of tomatoes, tomato puree, a screw of black pepper and a teaspoon of herbs. Simmer for a while - it's probably edible after 20-30 minutes, but it's better when you leave it for an hour.
The halloumi's really nice if you slice it, and put it into a greased griddle pan (brush it with olive oil) on a high heat - you should get some nice stripes if you fry them for 30s-1 minute on each side.
For the couscous: melt a knob of butter in a saucepan, and add the couscous grains, coating thoroughly. Add boiling water - enough to cover the couscous by about a centimetre. Let it bubble away for a couple of minutes until the water has been absorbed, then stir with a fork, to break the grains up. Check how hard it is - you may have to add some more water and give it a little longer.
To serve: take four bowls, dollop some couscous in each. Slosh the mediterranean vegetables on the top, and then place three or four slices of halloumi on each portion.
Me, your gran and your grandpa had this for tea, but you said you didn't like the squeaky halloumi cheese, so yours came with a few slices of chorizo instead.
Makes enough for four:
an onion, sliced
a clove of garlic, chopped
two peppers (red/yellow/green/orange - doesn't really matter), sliced into chunks
a courgette, sliced
some mushrooms, quartered
(you could also add aubergine, or whatever else is lying around)
a tin of tomatoes, and a squirt of tomato puree
herbs - some thyme, oregano, mediterranean herbs - whatever you've got really
couscous (about 1/4 of a 500g bag - depends how greedy the people are that you're cooking for, I suppose)
a block of Greek halloumi cheese (couple of hundred grams or so...)
Fry the onions and garlic in some olive oil until they are translucent. Add the peppers, cook for a couple of minutes until they soften, and then bung in the courgette and mushrooms (you might have to add a little more olive oil at this point. Cook for a couple more minutes, then add the tin of tomatoes, tomato puree, a screw of black pepper and a teaspoon of herbs. Simmer for a while - it's probably edible after 20-30 minutes, but it's better when you leave it for an hour.
The halloumi's really nice if you slice it, and put it into a greased griddle pan (brush it with olive oil) on a high heat - you should get some nice stripes if you fry them for 30s-1 minute on each side.
For the couscous: melt a knob of butter in a saucepan, and add the couscous grains, coating thoroughly. Add boiling water - enough to cover the couscous by about a centimetre. Let it bubble away for a couple of minutes until the water has been absorbed, then stir with a fork, to break the grains up. Check how hard it is - you may have to add some more water and give it a little longer.
To serve: take four bowls, dollop some couscous in each. Slosh the mediterranean vegetables on the top, and then place three or four slices of halloumi on each portion.
Me, your gran and your grandpa had this for tea, but you said you didn't like the squeaky halloumi cheese, so yours came with a few slices of chorizo instead.
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