Recipe - Moroccan-inspired couscous medley
I wish I had a better name for this dish. The best I can approximate is getting inspiration from a Mediterranean tabbouleh, throw in a bit of Greek and Moroccan influences, frugalise and eat!
The best thing is this can be very easily tweaked for both personal preferences and to reflect whatever things you already have on hand. It's actually not the most thrifty dish in the world, but I quite often make it with cheaper ingredients if you want to strip it right down to only costing pennies. I actually have fantasies of making this dish with foraged ingredients like ramson, cow parsley, nettles and the like. I love my children, but having two young ones makes it really difficult to get out to where the really good foraging is. I can't wait until they are little older and we can make an educational session out it.
This dish is brilliant in the warmer weather.
Moroccan-inspired couscous medley
serves 4 - if watching your waistline, serve with additional side of veg but more than fine on its own for dinner
Ingredients
250g couscous or bulgar wheat
200g mince beef or lamb
1 onion
spices like turmeric, cumin, chilli, ginger (to taste)
mint sauce or fresh mint
fresh coriander or parsley (optional, but nice)
any selection of vegetables like carrots, courgettes, mushrooms, cucumber, sweetcorn, peas, fresh tomatoes, leeks, spring onions
olives OR capers OR gherkins
100g feta-style cheese (optional, but nice)
lemon juice
Method
Prepare the couscous by pouring boiling water just to cover, cover bowl and leave for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop your onion and any veg you would like to soften. Brown the mince with the onion and veg, then add in spices to taste - maybe 1-2 teaspoons of each. Fluff your couscous and add the raw veg, mint sauce, fresh herbs, cheese and lemon juice. The olives/capers/gherkins add a really nice salty bite to it and I strongly recommend it as part of the dish - you can always add them in at the very end if you wish to separate out some for young children. The cheese is also optional as it's quite nice, but given it's one of the more expensive ingredients, it can easily be omitted. Stir everything together and add more sauces/juice/herbs to your personal taste.
Chill in fridge thoroughly before serving.
Can very easily be made vegetarian (I do so quite often!) by substituting kidney beans or chickpeas.
The best thing is this can be very easily tweaked for both personal preferences and to reflect whatever things you already have on hand. It's actually not the most thrifty dish in the world, but I quite often make it with cheaper ingredients if you want to strip it right down to only costing pennies. I actually have fantasies of making this dish with foraged ingredients like ramson, cow parsley, nettles and the like. I love my children, but having two young ones makes it really difficult to get out to where the really good foraging is. I can't wait until they are little older and we can make an educational session out it.
This dish is brilliant in the warmer weather.
Moroccan-inspired couscous medley
serves 4 - if watching your waistline, serve with additional side of veg but more than fine on its own for dinner
Ingredients
250g couscous or bulgar wheat
200g mince beef or lamb
1 onion
spices like turmeric, cumin, chilli, ginger (to taste)
mint sauce or fresh mint
fresh coriander or parsley (optional, but nice)
any selection of vegetables like carrots, courgettes, mushrooms, cucumber, sweetcorn, peas, fresh tomatoes, leeks, spring onions
olives OR capers OR gherkins
100g feta-style cheese (optional, but nice)
lemon juice
Method
Prepare the couscous by pouring boiling water just to cover, cover bowl and leave for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, chop your onion and any veg you would like to soften. Brown the mince with the onion and veg, then add in spices to taste - maybe 1-2 teaspoons of each. Fluff your couscous and add the raw veg, mint sauce, fresh herbs, cheese and lemon juice. The olives/capers/gherkins add a really nice salty bite to it and I strongly recommend it as part of the dish - you can always add them in at the very end if you wish to separate out some for young children. The cheese is also optional as it's quite nice, but given it's one of the more expensive ingredients, it can easily be omitted. Stir everything together and add more sauces/juice/herbs to your personal taste.
Chill in fridge thoroughly before serving.
Can very easily be made vegetarian (I do so quite often!) by substituting kidney beans or chickpeas.
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