Showing posts with label couscous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label couscous. Show all posts

Merguez Lamb Sausage Cous Cous

Cous Cous with Lamb Sausage

I don't cook much with lamb, and have honestly been a little afraid of it because it is somewhat foreign to me. I love eating it, but that's about it.

When hubby came home with some Merguez lamb sausages, I had no choice! I'm glad he did because my cous cous turned out to be a hit. I wanted it to have a North African flare, so I threw together some ingredients I had around the house, and BAM!

Merguez sausages are spicy, so be careful when adding the cayenne pepper if you can't handle a lot of spice!

This recipe yields 4 small servings.

Merguez Lamb Sausage Cous Cous
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1/4 slivered almonds, toasted
- 250g Merguez lamb sausage
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 small onions , finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (depends on how much heat you want)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
- 1 cup cous cous
- extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of cinnamon
- salt + pepper to taste

Method
1. Pan fry the sausages on medium-high heat with some olive oil until fully cooked. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Set aside.

2. In a pan, saute the onions with some olive oil until slightly translucent. Add the red peppers and zucchini and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, turmeric, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, cinnamon, and bay leaf and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Add the cous cous, and stir occasionally until the cous cous has absorbed most of the broth. Stir in the sausage, raisins, and almonds. Mix well. Discard the bay leaf. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Cous Cous Alla Panzanella

Cous Cous Alla Panzanella 3

One of my favorite Canadian Food Network Shows is David Rocco's Dolce Vita. It is a great show that shows snippets of David's life and adventures in Italy. I'm pumped everytime I hear the upbeat theme music of his show, and of course, I love his food. In each show, David shows you how to make very simple Italian dishes that are effortless.

One of my favorite recipes is his Cous Cous Alla Panzanella. It is a no-cook cous cous recipe that is easy and packed with great flavors. Instead of boiling his cous cous in water, David Rocco prepares the cous cous by soaking it in olive oil and tomato juice.

I make this for lunch all the time, and with the amount it makes, I usually have enough to last me the entire week.
This recipe makes 4-6 servings

Cous Cous Alla Panzanella
(Adapted from David Rocco)
- 2 cups cous cous
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 yellow pepper, chopped
- 1 orange pepper, chopped
- 20 grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 (796ml, 28 fl. oz) can whole tomatoes with juices, chopped
- juice of one lemon
- 40g basil leaves, torn
- salt and pepper to season

Method
1. Place olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, and canned tomatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add cous cous and mix thoroughly.

2. Add red onions, red, orange, and yellow peppers, and cherry tomatoes to the bowl. Mix well.

3. Add in lemon juice, and torn basil leaves. Mix well. Add pepper to taste (and more salt if needed).

4. You can serve immediately or wait a few hours for the flavors to intermingle.