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Foodie Friday: The Plum Palate
by Guest Writer, Valerie WhitmoreCouscous is one of my favorite go to ingredients for a side dish. It's quick cooking and can be used in a variety of ways. That said, I'm always on the look out for new recipes and ways to use it. We eat a lot of it and I like to vary how I prepare it.
Couscous is a pasta made from semolina. You can buy whole wheat versions of it, and it comes in different sizes. There is the standard couscous (left, below) which is very small and the pearl, or Israeli, couscous (right, below) which is about the size of acini de pepe pasta. The small size cooks in about 5 minutes. The larger size takes a couple more minutes but it's still pretty quick.
Personally I prefer the larger version. It has a "meaty" bite to it so it just feels more substantial when eating it
Couscous has been used for years in Middle Eastern and North African cooking. In fact, it's the national dish of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. It's used in everything from side dishes to desserts, or even as a breakfast mush. It basically can be used like other rice or cereal grains There is even such a thing as a couscoussiere for cooking it. And no, I don't have one of those. And no, you don't need one to cook it
As an ingredient, it's becoming more and more popular here in the U.S. My local supermarket carries multiple varieties including both the regular and pearl kinds, and even tri-color. You can also usually find pre-packaged mixes of flavored couscous.
If you look through our couscous section, you'll see that I've made quite a few of the recipes submitted. We eat a lot of couscous.
So when I was browsing the blogosphere to find one to feature for today's Foodie Friday and saw a recipe using couscous... I knew I had found the right blog.
The blog is called The Plum Palate and their specialty is "local foods of the Pacific Northwest".
All the recipes I looked at use fresh, yet easily obtainable, ingredients - even if you aren't in the Pacific Northwest. It's run by two friends, Jennifer Crain and Chie Okazaki. They have some amazing sounding recipes like pumpkin chips with cashew cream aioli or roasted okra with sweet corn, pumpkin seeds, and paprika. But my mind was on couscous.
The recipe I decided to salivate over is called chimichurri over portobello and pearl couscous.
Chimichurri is to Argentina as ketchup is to the U.S. Traditionally it's a sauce made from olive oil, vinegar, parsley, oregano, onion, and garlic spiced up with some cayenne pepper. The recipe for chimichurri on Plum Palate changes the greens and spices up a little but definitely sticks with the traditional concept.
I couldn't get pea shoots as listed in their recipe so I substituted watercress (which amazingly my local store carries regularly). You can also just use more parsley.
It's easy to make - just process it in a food processor or blender until pureed and smooth.
Their recipe says to grill the mushrooms but I got lazy and didn't feel like dragging out the indoor grill (and wasn't motivated enough to go fire up the outdoor grill) so I broiled them instead. Most stores with even a half-decent produce section should carry portobellos year-round. You can make a vegetarian meal out of this by using larger mushrooms, or make it a side dish using medium sized ones
The couscous portion of the recipe is simple, as it should be. It's cooked with some garlic, paprika, and cumin for a little kick of flavor. The recipe states to simmer it for 20 minutes. I think that must be a typo because it should (and did) only take 10 minutes
The one difference in cooking method between the small couscous and the large is that small couscous is usually combined with the boiling liquid and then removed from heat while it absorbs the liquid. It's then fluffed with a fork. The large couscous cooks more like pasta and has to simmer longer to absorb all the liquid.
To serve, plate the couscous and top with the portobello. Slather with some of the chimichurri and you are good to go
We loved it! The chimichurri can be made ahead of time and the rest of the recipe is quick cooking so it can easily be made in about 15-20 minutes
Get the recipe: Chimichurri over portobello and pearl couscous
Visit Plum Palate https://theplumpalate.com/
Like them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Plum-Palate/222470441109349
Follow Jenni on Twitter https://twitter.com/jennicrain
Couscous is a pasta made from semolina. You can buy whole wheat versions of it, and it comes in different sizes. There is the standard couscous (left, below) which is very small and the pearl, or Israeli, couscous (right, below) which is about the size of acini de pepe pasta. The small size cooks in about 5 minutes. The larger size takes a couple more minutes but it's still pretty quick.
Personally I prefer the larger version. It has a "meaty" bite to it so it just feels more substantial when eating it
Couscous has been used for years in Middle Eastern and North African cooking. In fact, it's the national dish of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. It's used in everything from side dishes to desserts, or even as a breakfast mush. It basically can be used like other rice or cereal grains There is even such a thing as a couscoussiere for cooking it. And no, I don't have one of those. And no, you don't need one to cook it
As an ingredient, it's becoming more and more popular here in the U.S. My local supermarket carries multiple varieties including both the regular and pearl kinds, and even tri-color. You can also usually find pre-packaged mixes of flavored couscous.
If you look through our couscous section, you'll see that I've made quite a few of the recipes submitted. We eat a lot of couscous.
So when I was browsing the blogosphere to find one to feature for today's Foodie Friday and saw a recipe using couscous... I knew I had found the right blog.
The blog is called The Plum Palate and their specialty is "local foods of the Pacific Northwest".
All the recipes I looked at use fresh, yet easily obtainable, ingredients - even if you aren't in the Pacific Northwest. It's run by two friends, Jennifer Crain and Chie Okazaki. They have some amazing sounding recipes like pumpkin chips with cashew cream aioli or roasted okra with sweet corn, pumpkin seeds, and paprika. But my mind was on couscous.
The recipe I decided to salivate over is called chimichurri over portobello and pearl couscous.
Chimichurri is to Argentina as ketchup is to the U.S. Traditionally it's a sauce made from olive oil, vinegar, parsley, oregano, onion, and garlic spiced up with some cayenne pepper. The recipe for chimichurri on Plum Palate changes the greens and spices up a little but definitely sticks with the traditional concept.
I couldn't get pea shoots as listed in their recipe so I substituted watercress (which amazingly my local store carries regularly). You can also just use more parsley.
It's easy to make - just process it in a food processor or blender until pureed and smooth.
Their recipe says to grill the mushrooms but I got lazy and didn't feel like dragging out the indoor grill (and wasn't motivated enough to go fire up the outdoor grill) so I broiled them instead. Most stores with even a half-decent produce section should carry portobellos year-round. You can make a vegetarian meal out of this by using larger mushrooms, or make it a side dish using medium sized ones
The couscous portion of the recipe is simple, as it should be. It's cooked with some garlic, paprika, and cumin for a little kick of flavor. The recipe states to simmer it for 20 minutes. I think that must be a typo because it should (and did) only take 10 minutes
The one difference in cooking method between the small couscous and the large is that small couscous is usually combined with the boiling liquid and then removed from heat while it absorbs the liquid. It's then fluffed with a fork. The large couscous cooks more like pasta and has to simmer longer to absorb all the liquid.
To serve, plate the couscous and top with the portobello. Slather with some of the chimichurri and you are good to go
We loved it! The chimichurri can be made ahead of time and the rest of the recipe is quick cooking so it can easily be made in about 15-20 minutes
Get the recipe: Chimichurri over portobello and pearl couscous
Visit Plum Palate https://theplumpalate.com/
Like them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Plum-Palate/222470441109349
Follow Jenni on Twitter https://twitter.com/jennicrain