I’m loving this dish.
Couscous has long been a staple food in North Africa’s Maghreb but it has become popular around the world in recent years. I remember discovering it on a long-ago trip to startlingly-beautiful and exasperatingly-strident Morocco.
Most of us here in the West think of couscous as part of a savory meal, but it is often served as a dessert in North Africa. For dessert, cooks add sugar, butter, cinnamon, raisins, nuts and cream to the dish. How good does that sound?
Couscous can be made from a number of grains but most traditionally it is made with crushed durum wheat semolina.
I love couscous. Like most Americans, I make mine using the pre-cooked dry couscous available in a box. Trader Joe’s had a very good Israeli couscous that I used for this recipe.
If you are a purist and have a lot of time, however, there is nothing better than hand-made couscous that is steamed over a simmering stew. Here is a Williams Sonoma video clip of a Moroccan chef making couscous in a beautiful couscoussiere, the traditional pot for making couscous. Just so happens that you can buy that beautiful hammered copper steamer for $199 on the Williams Sonoma site: Williams Sonoma Video on Making Couscous. It sits in the window of my local Williams Sonoma store and I ogle it every time I walk past the store.
This recipe is adapted from a Melissa Clark recipe that appears on the New York Times’ cooking site. The artichokes are added to this recipe with the chickpeas in step 3 below.
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 1/2 pints grape tomatoes (halved)
- 1/4 C. sliced scallions
- 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 T. balsamic vinegar
- 2 large garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 1/2 t. kosher salt or to taste
- 1/2 t. black pepper or to taste
- 3 oregano, rosemary or sage sprigs (I used fresh oregano)
- 2 C. vegetable stock
- 1/3 C. chopped cilantro or parsley
- 1/2 t.finely-grated lemon zest (from 1/2 lemon)
- 3/4 t. ground cumin
- 8 oz. pearl couscous (I usedTrader Joe's Israeli couscous)
- 1 C. quartered artichoke hearts (I used Trader Joe's frozen artichoke hearts)
- 1 15 oz. can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 C. feta (crumbled)
- 1/3 C. freshly-grated Parmesan or Asiago (I used Asiago)
- Garnish with chopped cilantro or parsley
- Serve on a bed of sauteed spinach
- Garnish with a few sliced grape tomatoes
- Drizzle finished dish with some extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Use a 9-inch gratin dish, cake pan or baking dish. Toss tomatoes, scallions, 2 T. oil, 1 T. vinegar, garlic, 1/2 t. salt, pepper and oregano sprigs together in your baking dish and roast the mixture for about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes are tender. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Meanwhile, boil stock and stir in 1 t. salt (or to taste). Stir in cilantro, lemon zest and cumin.
- Toast the couscous in a small amount of oil and then stir it into the roasted tomato mixture. Add the chickpeas and the hot stock. Stir to combine. Cover the baking dish securely with foil and bake in the oven for another 20 minutes or until the couscous in done and fluffy.
- Take the mixture from the oven and add 3/4 of the feta and the Asaigo or Parmesan. Return the pan to the oven and bake (uncovered) until the feta just begins to melt. This will take about 5 minutes. While your dish is getting its final baking, sautee some spinach in a little butter until it is wilted but still bright green.
- Serve couscous hot on a bed of sauteed spinach. Garnish with more feta and chopped cilantro or the herbs of your choice. Garnish with a few sliced grape tomatoes if you wish and drizzle each portion with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
- This is even better on the second or third day when the flavors have had time to marry.
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