A Favor for Curry
I adore ethnic food, and one of my absolute favorites is middle eastern cuisine. I love hummus, baba ganoush, tabouleh, shawarma, kebabs, and so many more wonderfully flavorful and unique dishes. Due to this love and admiration for that part of the world, and its dishes, I've honed some basic recipes - and come up with some of my own inspired by traditional middle eastern fare.
Couscous is a food I crave if I haven't had it in a while. I love it in lemony salads, made into a pilaf with pine nuts, and prepared simply with olive oil and a light sprinkling of parmesan cheese. These tiny grains of semolina pasta are versatile, cheap, and (the 'instant' kind, sold in western supermarkets) could not be quicker to prepare, at only 5 minutes from start to finish.
Playing with my pasta led me to pair couscous with curry and vegetables a few years back. This resulted in a dish that is now a staple of my gastronomical grimoire - and has become one of my most requested. You can saute in one pan, while boiling in another, and then mix it all up in a nice big bowl. I like to serve it with grilled chicken or shrimp that has been marinated in lemon, garlic, parsley and olive oil as well as a salad avec vinaigrette and some warmed flatbread.
The meal is all the more fun if you can even eat it as it should be eaten - by ripping off a piece of flatbread to use as an edible utensil. Use the bread to scoop up some of this couscous, some of your favorite protein, or some salad (or all of it, if you can) and transport yourself into Casablanca or some exotic and peaceful Bedouin oasis.
Gorey's Curried Couscous
1 5.7 oz. box 'instant' couscous
1-1/4 c. water
3/4 c. sweet onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. carrot, very finely diced
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped fine
2 tbsp. Madras curry powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
In a deep pot, over medium-high heat, bring water and 1 tbsp. of the olive oil to a boil.
Simultaneously, add another 2 tbsp. of the oil to a small saute pan. Heat this also over medium-high heat, and when the oil is hot, stir in the onion. Saute until tender.
Add the garlic, peas and carrots and saute until they are tender as well, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the curry powder, cinnamon, parsley, salt and pepper. Taste to check seasoning and set aside.
Stir all the couscous into the boiling water. Cover and remove from the heat. Set this aside, and do not open the lid, for 5 minutes. You can allow it to sit a little longer, but no more than 15 minutes.
When the couscous' time has elapsed, remove the lid and use a fork to gently fluff the pasta. It will seem like a solid mass, but with the fork it will separate.
Stir the curry-vegetable mix into the fluffed couscous, mixing thoroughly. Drizzle the remaining 3 tbsp. of oil over, and mix again. Taste to check seasoning, add salt and or pepper to taste.
Serve with various middle eastern accoutrements, a variety of olives, the warmed flatbread and some fruity white wine. This is especially great with shish kebab, grilled chicken, or garlicky shrimp.
Couscous is a food I crave if I haven't had it in a while. I love it in lemony salads, made into a pilaf with pine nuts, and prepared simply with olive oil and a light sprinkling of parmesan cheese. These tiny grains of semolina pasta are versatile, cheap, and (the 'instant' kind, sold in western supermarkets) could not be quicker to prepare, at only 5 minutes from start to finish.
Playing with my pasta led me to pair couscous with curry and vegetables a few years back. This resulted in a dish that is now a staple of my gastronomical grimoire - and has become one of my most requested. You can saute in one pan, while boiling in another, and then mix it all up in a nice big bowl. I like to serve it with grilled chicken or shrimp that has been marinated in lemon, garlic, parsley and olive oil as well as a salad avec vinaigrette and some warmed flatbread.
The meal is all the more fun if you can even eat it as it should be eaten - by ripping off a piece of flatbread to use as an edible utensil. Use the bread to scoop up some of this couscous, some of your favorite protein, or some salad (or all of it, if you can) and transport yourself into Casablanca or some exotic and peaceful Bedouin oasis.
Gorey's Curried Couscous
1 5.7 oz. box 'instant' couscous
1-1/4 c. water
3/4 c. sweet onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
5 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. frozen peas
1/4 c. carrot, very finely diced
2 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped fine
2 tbsp. Madras curry powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
In a deep pot, over medium-high heat, bring water and 1 tbsp. of the olive oil to a boil.
Simultaneously, add another 2 tbsp. of the oil to a small saute pan. Heat this also over medium-high heat, and when the oil is hot, stir in the onion. Saute until tender.
Add the garlic, peas and carrots and saute until they are tender as well, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the curry powder, cinnamon, parsley, salt and pepper. Taste to check seasoning and set aside.
Stir all the couscous into the boiling water. Cover and remove from the heat. Set this aside, and do not open the lid, for 5 minutes. You can allow it to sit a little longer, but no more than 15 minutes.
When the couscous' time has elapsed, remove the lid and use a fork to gently fluff the pasta. It will seem like a solid mass, but with the fork it will separate.
Stir the curry-vegetable mix into the fluffed couscous, mixing thoroughly. Drizzle the remaining 3 tbsp. of oil over, and mix again. Taste to check seasoning, add salt and or pepper to taste.
Serve with various middle eastern accoutrements, a variety of olives, the warmed flatbread and some fruity white wine. This is especially great with shish kebab, grilled chicken, or garlicky shrimp.