Couscous is traditionally cooked in the steam that rises from the stew simmering underneath. It is a long but enjoyable ritual that gives an exceptionally light and fluffy result. But most of the couscous we buy in the shops here is ready-cooked and dried and needs only a brief soaking in water or stock. It is ready in 10 minutes. Use it in salads in place of rice or cracked wheat or bake it with chicken or use it as a stuffing for roast meat or chicken. There is now also an excellent wholemeal version available in wholefood shops, some supermarkets and Middle Eastern food shops. What it lacks in the ritual and supreme lightness of the traditional steamers, it makes up for in speed and ease for a midweek supper.
1. Three-herb orange couscous salad
A bright-flavoured and singularly refreshing salad to accompany cold meats or grilled fish. Its sharp, fresh flavours are very fine with grilled mackerel.
Serves 3 as a side dish
a cup of hot vegetable stock or water
fine couscous - 80g
a large orange
coriander leaves - a large handful
parsley - a large handful
mint - a small bunch
the juice of a lemon
Pour the boiling water over the couscous and set aside for 10 minutes. Cut the peel from the orange and discard. Slice the orange thickly, then cut each slice into small pieces. Fluff up the couscous with a fork and add the orange.
Remove the leaves from the coriander, parsley and mint and chop them all finely. Fold into the couscous with the lemon juice and a grinding of salt.
2. Roast lamb with couscous and red onions
Ask the butcher to prepare your shoulder of lamb for stuffing. Where the bone is removed, it provides a neat pocket that will hold just the right amount of stuffing.
Serves 6
a shoulder of lamb, about 1.3kg
a large red onion
fine couscous - 90g
boiling water - 200ml
golden sultanas - a handful
ground cumin - 1/2 tsp
cinnamon - 2 large pinches
a little olive oil
Peel and thinly slice the onion, then let it soften in a little olive oil over a moderate heat, stirring from time to time. It is ready when soft and golden. Put the couscous in a bowl and pour over the water. Leave for 10 minutes. Set the oven at 220C/Gas 8.
Fluff the couscous with a fork to separate the grains. Stir in the softened onion, the sultanas and the spices. Season generously then stuff the mixture into the pocket inside the lamb. Pull the meat over the stuffing and seal with a skewer or tie with string.
Place the meat in a roasting tin, scattering any spare stuffing around the outside and rub a little olive oil over the fat. Pour a glass of water into the roasting tin and place it in the oven.
Roast the lamb for 20 minutes then lower the heat to 200C/Gas 6 and continue roasting for 40 minutes, until the fat is crisp and golden and the meat juices run clear when pierced with a skewer.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes before carving.
3. Butternut squash stew with wholegrain couscous
You need not stick to my three vegetables here. You could use pretty much anything you have to hand, adding any tender vegetables later than the squash and roots. I just used the cheapest vegetables I could find.
Serves 4-6
onions - 2
ground nut or olive oil - 3 tbs
garlic - 2 large cloves
a butternut squash
a whole celeriac
aubergines - 2 medium sized
parsley - a bunch
coriander - a bunch
ground ginger - 1 tsp
ground cumin -1 tsp
ground black pepper - a scant tsp
the juice of 2 lemons
vegetable stock - 750ml (water at a push)
To finish:
a handful of coriander leaves
To serve:
wholegrain couscous
Peel the onions, slice them in half and then into thick slices. Warm the oil in a large, heavy-based pan then add the sliced onions and let them soften over a moderate heat. Peel the garlic and chop it finely, then stir into the onions. Let the onions become soft and pale gold in colour.
Peel the butternut squash, discard its seeds and fibres and chop the flesh into large chunks. Do the same with the celeriac, then roughly chop the aubergine. Add the vegetables to the pot, cover with a lid and leave them to soften, with a regular stir, for 15 minutes or so. Keep the heat moderate so they don't burn.
Put the leaves from the parsley, the coriander, ginger, cumin, pepper and lemon juice in a food processor and blitz to a pulp, adding a little of the stock if necessary. Mix the pulp with the rest of the stock and pour into the vegetables.
Bring to the boil, season generously with salt and leave to simmer merrily for 20 minutes or so, until the vegetables are thoroughly soft and starting to collapse. Add pepper and a little more salt to taste. You should have lots of tender vegetables and a small amount of savoury juices at the bottom of the pan. Serve hot, with the torn herbs and plain, steamed couscous.
4. Jewelled couscous
A refreshing, crunchy, couscous salad to eat with cold meats.
Serves 3 as a side dish
hot vegetable stock or water - 200ml
olive oil - 2 tbs
fine couscous - 100g
golden sultanas, dark raisins, pumpkin seeds - 2 tbs
a pomegranate
mint - a small bunch
parsley - a small bunch
lemon juice
Pour the vegetable stock and olive oil over the couscous. Cover and leave to swell for 10-15 minutes. Put the sultanas, raisins and pumpkin seeds in a bowl.
Break open the pomegranate and remove the seeds. Add the seeds to the dried fruits, then fold in the soaked couscous.
Finely chop the mint and parsley leaves and stir into the couscous with the lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
5. Chicken breasts with baked couscous
Once plumped up, you can season and bake the couscous to serve with chicken. The juices from the chicken pieces will flavour the couscous underneath. This recipe doubles up very easily for larger numbers.
Serves 2
couscous - 90g
chicken stock - 200ml
butter - a thin slice
parsley - 5 or 6 bushy stems
spring onions - 4
a clove of garlic
flaked almonds - a good handful
preserved lemons - 1 medium sized
chicken breasts - 2 large, free range
a little olive oil
Put the couscous in a bowl and pour over the chicken stock. Set aside for 10 minutes for the couscous to swell.
Set the oven at 180C/Gas 4.
Stir the butter, cut into small pieces, into the couscous. Chop the parsley and the spring onions and fold in, then add the peeled and finely chopped garlic and flaked almonds. Scrape away and discard the flesh of the lemons so you are left with the skin, then chop it finely. Mix into the couscous, season with salt and black pepper then place in a baking dish.
Season the chicken all over with olive oil, salt and pepper. Warm a non-stick frying pan over a moderate heat, then place the chicken skin-side down so that it colours nicely. Turn and brown the other side, then place on top of the couscous. Cover with foil or buttered baking parchment and bake for 45 minutes or so until the chicken is cooked. Serve with a green salad.
