Deconstructing: Couscous<br /><br />

By Janet K. Keeler and Times Food, Travel Editor
In print: Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Couscous is a tiny pasta — no, not a grain — made from hard durum semolina wheat, which is indigenous to North Africa. It's a staple in cuisines across the Mideast and northern Africa, especially in Morocco, where it often serves as the cradle for thick lamb stews or paired with dried fruits.

Finely milled Moroccan couscous is widely available and often comes already flavored with herbs. There are also larger varieties. Israeli couscous, which is sometimes called toasted couscous or pasta pearls, can be found at whole food stores. Lebanese couscous is larger still and difficult to find.

What's really important is that couscous is the best friend of time-starved cooks. Boil water, pour in the pasta and let it sit, off the heat, for five minutes. Done!

Bland couscous soaks up the flavors of whatever it's paired with and is a good match with herbs, nuts and seafood and poultry. Serve it as a warm side dish or as a building block in a cold or room temperature salad, such as this Paella Couscous Salad.

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Paella Couscous Salad

Dressing:

½ cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

¾ teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Salad:

1/2 pound cured smoked Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/4-inch dice (do not use fresh chorizo)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

3/4 pound medium shrimp in shell (26), peeled and deveined

3/4 pound sea scallops (frozen, uncooked and thawed are fine)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups couscous

1 package (about a teaspoon) saffron threads

1 cup frozen peas

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 cup coarsely chopped drained pimiento-stuffed green olives

1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Lemon wedges

To make dressing, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until well mixed. Can be made a day in advance.

For salad, saute chorizo over medium high heat until brown and fat is rendered, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain chorizo on paper towels and wipe out pan. Reduce heat to medium, add olive oil and saute onions and garlic until golden but not browned, about 3 minutes. Reserve chorizo, onions and garlic in a bowl.

Bring broth and wine to a boil in a 2 1/2-quart saucepan and cook shrimp, covered, until just cooked through, about 45 seconds. Transfer shrimp with a slotted spoon to a small bowl. Bring liquid in saucepan back to a boil and cook scallops, covered, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer scallops with slotted spoon to bowl with shrimp and pour any liquid accumulated in bowl back into pan. Add lemon juice to seafood, then add salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.

Put couscous in a metal bowl. Reserve 1 3/4 cups cooking liquid in saucepan and discard remainder. Add saffron and bring liquid to a boil and pour over couscous. Let stand, covered tightly with plastic wrap, 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork. Add chorizo. Stir in peas (still frozen), bell pepper, olives and seafood and toss to combine.

Pour most of the dressing over seafood salad, reserving about 1/4 cup. Toss to combine well. Let stand 30 minutes at room temperature to allow couscous to absorb dressing.

Stir in parsley and season salad with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon wedges or slices.

Can be made (without parsley) the day before and refrigerated, covered. Use remaining dressing to moisten salad. Stir in parsley just before serving.

Serves 6.

Note: This salad is easily doubled or tripled or more to feed a large crowd.

Source: Lennie Bennett, adapted from Gourmet magazine