I mean… seriously. YUM.

So on Sunday, Firat was craving Chicken Piccata. I was craving a food adventure. So I decided to experiment with a couple new side dishes I’ve been meaning to test out. The first was Tyler Florence’s Raw Zucchini Carpaccio (follow link for recipe). It was light and delicious, but needed more acid then the recipe called for. I’ll definitely play around with this more in the future, because I think the dish has serious potential and looks much more impressive than it is to make. Always a solid choice.

The second is Israeli couscous, which I’ve never eaten but seen it used widely on Top Chef. Probably what took me so long is that I’ve never been a fan of African grain couscous. It’s small and mealy and despite its delicious flavor and super quick cooking time, I hate the texture and the way it sticks to your throat. Well when Firat saw it in the grains bin and explained that this was what true couscous looked like in Turkey, I figured hey, no time like the present.

I dug through a few different recipes online and was fascinated to see that it could be treated like: 1. a pasta, boiled in an excess of water ; 2. a rice pilaf, toasted in oil/butter, then steamed with an exact amount of liquid; 3. a risotto, slowly stirred for a softer, creamier texture. Being ridiculous, I went for the most complicated option first: door number 3. So I adapted a recipe posted by LATimes and here’s what I came up with:

Herbed Israeli Couscous Risotto-style
Serves 3 – 4

1/2 lb dried Israeli couscous (about 1.5 cups)
1-2 tbsp butter
1 young spring onion or 1/2 sweet onion, small diced
1 bay leaf
3-4 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp chopped parsley
1 1/2 tbsp chopped mint
1 1/2 tbsp chopped dill (try any combination of chopped herbs, perhaps basil, chives or tarragon)

Melt the butter into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion until just translucent, about 3 minutes. Dump in the couscous and the bay leaf and stir to thoroughly coat with the butter. Saute about 5 minutes until the couscous starts to get toasty-looking:

Now it’s time to get the broth going. Pour in the first cup and give the couscous a good stir. Lower the heat to about medium-low so that there’s only the slightest simmer happening. I didn’t stir quite as religiously as I do when I make risotto, but keep your eye on it and keep it moving around the pan. You want the liquid to slowly be absorbed before you add the next cup-full. How do you know when it’s ready for more? Scrape your cooking utensil along the bottom of the pan. The couscous will slowly drift back into place, but there’s clearly not a puddle of liquid left at the bottom.

After about 3 cups of the stock have been absorbed, which takes about 20 minutes, give the couscous a taste. Check the texture (is it al dente? still too chewy?) and the seasoning. Add some salt and pepper to taste and the lemon juice, along with a tiny bit more stock if it needs it. About 5 – 8 minutes later, the liquid should all be absorbed and the couscous should be perfectly soft. Right before serving, I stirred in another 1/2 tbsp of butter for a nice sheen and mixed in all the chopped herbs. Oh and don’t forget to pull out the bay leaf.

Wowwiewow was I a happy lady!! And think of the endless varieties this recipe could be adapted for! Tomato and basil, roasted veggies, seafood stock with shellfish and saffron, mushroom and thyme, peas and mint… soo much yum, so little time.

couscous, herbs, risotto