Plain couscous is the perfect accompaniment to a rich tagine, but is often rather bland when served with other, less heavily spiced, Middle Eastern dishes
This is a recipe that I've developed over the years, initially adding diced soft apricots, then Ras el hanout and more recently toasted pine nuts. It's the perfect side for falafels, grilled kebabs, koftas or these delicious haloumi stuffed peppers.
Finally, accompany with a spoonful (or two) of
tzatziki
or
taktouka (warm pepper and tomato salad) for the perfect mix of flavours and textures.
Olive oil
1 medium red onion
1-2 teaspoons of Ras el hanout
100g soft dried apricots
25 pine nuts (or the whole pack and save the remainder in a sealed container for scattering on salads)
170g wholewheat couscous
260g vegetable or chicken stock
- Pre-heat the oven to 200°C
- Lay the pine nuts on a baking tray.
- Once the oven is up to temperature, 'toast' the pine nuts - this takes between 5-6 minutes. Note, that towards the end of the cooking time, they will suddenly start to brown and it's quite easy for them to burn, so you need to keep an eye on them. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Finely dice the red onion.
- Cut the apricots into 1/2cm pieces.
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and sauté the onions until they are translucent and browning at the edges. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add a drizzle more olive oil to the pan, then add the Ras el hanout and stir for 1-2 minutes, being careful not to let the spice burn.
- Add the stock to the pan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat. Stir in the couscous and replace the lid. Leave for 10 minutes.
- Once the cous cous is ready (all the stock should be absorbed), stir in the onions, apricots and toasted pine nuts.
