ISO Israeli Couscous

[CassiesKitchen]

I discovered this ingredient with Christine Cushing Live show a few years ago and bought some of it last year. I had a recipe for it in the Bon Appetit of this month. I ended up completly changing the original recipe since my super market had neither squash nor raddichio - I used mushrooms instead. Anyways, do any of you have recipe ideas for this stuff? It's pretty good!

[kitchenelf]

I love Israeli couscous (also called Pearl couscous).

I'll sautee whatever veggies I want, caramelize onions and peppers then flavor with curry powder.

[StirBlue]

A North African dish consisting of a spicy stew of meat and vegetables served with couscous (per Encarta Dictionary). We have some doctors from India who practice medicine here and they use couscous in this way. The dictionary also said it was Arabic translated to french and then to English. There should be many variations of recipes for couscous.

[urmaniac13]

Pardon me for my ignorance, but how is Israeli couscous different from regular couscous? Flavour, texture, production or cooking method?

Judging from the couscous I regularly use (which I casually get from either market or supermarket pretty inexpensively), and if the Israeli version is similar enough, I can say couscous is a wonderful canvas for great varieties of condiments, sauce, additions, just like rice and pasta are, you can use your imaginations just as you like pretty much, and come up with appetizing fair!.

[CassiesKitchen]

It's larger, the size of a green pea to be exact so you need to actually cook it, unlike the instant variety of couscous that just needs to be covered in boiling water to be prepared.

[cjs]

I copied the following down from somewhere - God knows where, to make but I haven't yet. It just sounds like a good salad!!

8 ounces Israeli couscous
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
4 ounces fresh spinach, julienned
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup kalamata olives
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
4 ounces Feta cheese

Lemon Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt to taste
sugar to taste

[urmaniac13]

Originally Posted by CassiesKitchen

It's larger, the size of a green pea to be exact so you need to actually cook it, unlike the instant variety of couscous that just needs to be covered in boiling water to be prepared.

Interesting!! We live near an ethnic quarter, also there is a Jewish part of town near central Rome, too, so I am sure we should be able to find it. We bought a tajine not long ago, this kind of cous cous maybe more fitting to cook in it rather than the instant version. I need to look into various recipes myself!!

BTW cjs's recipe sounds good, perhaps it works also with burghul, like a variation of tabouli?

[mish]

Couscous is so versatile, you can use it in place of rice in a variety of ways/dishes. I use the instant couscous, but here are some recipe ideas:

As a side - add raisins and nuts (almonds, toasted pine nuts), roasted garlic, sun-dried or cherry/grape tomatoes, roasted red peppers, mint.

As a salad - add broc, tomatoes, raisins, nuts, cukes, feta.

Main dish - add cooked shredded chicken, broc, tomatoes, red or green onions.

A wrap -in pita bread with lamb, lettuce, tomatoes, tziiki (sp), cukes.

Couscous patties

Dessert - I've seen some couscous dessert recipes, will see if I saved them, or you can probably google.