The BEAUTY of CousCous

[Zak33]

Who here uses this incredible food stuff?

Sair's good with it, with Chicken Stock, but I've started just adding plain old tap water, stirring, adding a bit more, leaving a few minutes, etc until it's all nice and swollen.

Quick BBQ recipe, just in case the sun comes out over your house! (I know....unlikely)

Put whole peppers on BBQ and let the flames lick them, until blackened skins, then roll over and do other sides.

Once all look burned on outside, drop them into a polythene bag, and tie it shut. They'll steam and after 5 minutesm take them out, don't burn your fingers, and roughly peel the burned bits off, leave what you cant get off, and chop and seed the peppers.

BBQ any courgettes you've got. Maybe chop a tomato and de-seed it too to go in later.

Soak couscous with splashes of water in a big bowl, stir, leave a minute, go again adding more water until the grains are large and soaked up the water but not soggy.

Add chopped peppers, and other vegetablesd you roasted/chopped cos you were bored, and olive oil plus tiny splash of red or white wine vinegar if you've got it, and if you've got any seeds, (pumkin, sunflower) drop a few in. Raisins are good too.

Mix

Cover with cling film and leave until ready to serve other food

[dangel]

Cous Cous is the dandruff of the devil. Tis evil stuff, built for punishing me.

[Zak33]

tis a shame you say that.. it's fantastic. It's cheap and it's flexible beyond belief

It takes up flavours like nothing on earth

[Funkstar]

Yeah Cous Cous is good. Makes a nice change from rice etc.

[timread]

Couscous is brilliant! Like funkstar says, it's a nice, lighter change to rice & pasta which can get a bit heavy and same-y. Especially good with grilled/bbq'd meats and vegetables.

There's a great spicy couscous recipe in Jamie Oliver's Naked Chef (just ignore the direction at the end to boil simmer for 20 minutes!! I think they meant 2 minutes - or just take it off the hob when you add the stock). It has red wine vinegar in it, which you cook off. Lovely & fragrant. Also there's a good Spicy Casablanca Couscous recipe in Ainsley Harriot's Low Fat Meals in Minutes book.

You can add little things to it like raisins or chopped up dried apricots (soaked in the stock), and toasted pine nuts.

I made some just using Marigold organic Swiss vegetable stock and some thin strips of red pepper the other day, and it was LOVERLY.

Yum yum I'm getting hungry now.

[Sair33]

...and best of all? It's QUICK! "Fast food" at its best

[tiggerai]

I've been eating it for years as I'm not a great fan of rice.

My fave is plain with a nob of butter stirred in.

In fact, i may have some tonight.

[g8ina]

me/ is not keen. One of the few foods which fall into that category !

[bobbyzero]

If you're not sure whether you like it or not, there are some ready-flavoured Ainsley Harriott ones on the market that are pretty good. Then you can use the ingredients as recipe ideas.

[burble]

I love the stuff. There is a really nice Moroccan restaurant near our office in France that I try to visit when I'm over there. Unfortunately for me the owners have taken on the French holiday spirit just a little too well so they close late July and don't re-open until mid September so they were closed when I was over there last week.