Couscous - what can I do with it

I won a big bag off here lol, I dont even know what it is or what to do with it can anyone suggest anything thats yummy!

it's SO easy to cook, pretty much anything you cook with rice, can be substituted for cous cous

also, if you're making spag bol, or any mincey dish, sprinkle some cous cous in while the mince is simmering in sauce, pads it out, makes it more filling

Meatballs are a safe bet. That is if you have any left after tasting it! Also, don't add extra water - at all!

recipe off my box of CousCous

*1/2 cup of dry CousCous is a single serve.
1. Place 1/2 cup (125ml) of water in a saucepan.Add 1-2 tablespoons oil, and 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste), and bring to the boil.Remove from heat.

2. Stir and pour in 1/2cup (100g) of CousCous.Cover and allow to stand for 2-3minutes.

3.Add 1 teaspoon of butter, and heat again on verylow heat for 3 minutes while stirring with a fork to separate the grains

I have it for lunch most days with some shredded chicken, dried cranberries, feta and cucumber. I cook it with a bit of morrocon spice in the water. Yum

bid-warz, I presume you have what is known as 'Instant Couscous' which is a form of pre-steamed and dried pasta i.e. it does not require actual cooking as pasta and traditional or Israeli Couscous do.
Assuming that it is the instant couscous.it can have both savoury and sweet uses,and served hot, warm or cold, but first it must be moistened and well-flavoured - without being well-flavoured couscous is extremely bland but on the positive side, it will take on the flavour of anything that it accompanies or is mixed with it. I'll find some recipes for you for how we enjoy couscous but in the meantime if you'd like to learn more about couscous have a look at:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Couscous

Here's a couple of our favourites.

LEMON COUSCOUS
grated zest and juice of 3 lemons
1 cup well-flavoured chicken stock
2 tbsp olive oil
1 packed cup couscous
3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley or coriander
2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
salt to taste (see note below)

Bring to the boil the chicken stock, olive oil and lemon juice.Remove from the heat and add the couscous.Stir briefly, then cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes for the couscous to absorb the liquid.
Toss with a fork then add and fork through the lemon zest, parsley or coriander, lemon pepper seasoning, lemon zest and salt to taste.
Serve warm or cold - (can be easily reheated in the microwave).
Serves 4–6.
Notes:Salt will probably not be necessary if instant stock powder has been used.

MOROCCAN COUSCOUS SALAD
1 cup each ofcouscousandboiling water
2 tsp instant chicken stock
1 red capsicumand1 green, yellow or orange capsicum
2 sticks celery
½ cup raisins
¼ cup each ofolive oilandwhite vinegar
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp chilli powder

Mix the boiling water, chicken stock and 2 tbsp olive oil and bring the mixture to a good rolling boil, then add the couscous.Stir, then cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes.Using a fork, fluff up the couscous, then add the capsicums, celery and raisins to the couscous.
Mix the coriander, cumin, chilli powder, vinegar and remaining 2 tbsp oil together in a screw-top jar.Shake to combine, then pour this dressing over the couscous and mix well.:-))

yummm that sounds delicious!

bid-warz, some more info' and recipes for you from the former Trademe Cooks.

"Cous cous :: what you need to know
Although cous cous is edible when it has just been moistened and heated, it is much much better if it is steamed for about 30 min. It plumps up and has a light fluffy texture. All you need to do is cover it with cold water for about 10 min, drain into a steamer, place over simmering water or stew and cover. Steam it for 15 minutes, fluff it up, steam a further 15 minutes. It is even more delicious if you add a little cold milk to it when you fluff it. This is a traditional practice in some parts of North Africa. posted by davidt4

Cous cous :: what you need to know
it is mixed with about equall quantitys of boiling water or stock, it is then left to sit covered for a few minutes to soak up all the moisture, you then usually put in a knob of butter and give it a fluff up.
posted by crsdbl

The above 2 'need to know' hints are very much each to their own, as with many things we all have our way we like to do things, I believe crsdbl's way is what is generally recommended on packets as the quick and easy way, but don't let that stop you from trying Davids Steam idea, you might find you like it more, or as much as. posted be fetish

TASTE TEMPTER: l use orange juice and vege stock to wet then add cinnamon, corriander, cummin, garlic, pinenuts and either raisins or craisins. I just add to my taste. I made it xmas day for my fussy family and they loved it posted by huntly girl

ANYTIME SPICED FRUIT AND NUT COUSCOUS
(I created this after tasting a similar dish at an eatery) Ingredients: 1and a 1/4 cups hot water; 1/2 tsp mixed spice; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/4 tspground cloves; 1 and 1/2 tbsp raw sugar-or sweetener to replace; 2 granny smith apples, or similar; 1/2 cup sultanas, washed; 1and 1/4 cups San Remo medium grain couscous; 1/4 cup almonds, unsalted, roasted; 1/4 cup walnuts. Method: Put hot water into a big saucepan and add spices and sugar. Stir, then peel and slice apples and put into the spiced water, and bring to boil, then simmer until the fruit is cooked but still firm. In the meantime hand-chop the nuts. Aim for pieces the size of small peas, but don't worry if you get finer or chunkier. Remove fruit from heat and sieve over a graduated bowl, reserving liquid. Place fruit in a bowl or dish to rest and measure your spiced liquid. Add hot water to bring it back to 1¼ cups of liquid if neccessary and put it back on to heat in a pot, adding the sultanas at this stage. When it boils turn the heat off and sprinkle the couscous grains over the liquid in the pot, give a quick stir, then put the lid on and leave it for 4 mins or longer. Toss and separate the grains with a fork then stir in the chopped nuts and the fruit, or you may wish to serve the fruit separately on top. This dish tastes best warmed. Serve with milk, cream, ice cream, or topping of your choice.
It can be served with soy milk (with the coffee-flavoured one it tastes fantastic), milk, cream, yoghurt, maple or fruit syrups, ice cream or custard. It can be served for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dessert. It is low in fat and relatively low GI as the low GI rating of apple and nuts coupled with the medium rating of couscous bring the overall GI figure down. Sweetener can be used instead of sugar to bring calories down too. This recipe can easily be doubled, which I do as I eat it for several days, and I also freeze pottles to take to work for lunch, defrosting and warming it in the microwave (3-4 mins on high). It lends itself well to substitutions - tinned apples, or pears instead of apples. Chopped dried apricots/figs/prunes instead of sultanas. above 2 posted by mamabear":-))

continued from #9.

"Cook as per recipe on pack (dont over cook)
then COOL and then add the following finly chopped (as much as you please but more is better and all must be raw). Red or white onion, garlic, peppers, chive/spring onion, any & all herbs esp basil & corriander, salt, pepper, some sugar, chilly, corn off the cob (not canned), lime and lemon juice (add last), extra virgan olive oil enough to make it shine. Mix by hand. Serve with fish or as a side salad. Its a lot of work to get good taste into cos cos so use your imagination add add other things too. Good luck. posted by mss2006

I do roasted vegetables - pumpkin, potato, red capsicum, red onion, parsnip, carrot, garlic etc. Cut into bite size pieces, when cooked, mix in cooked couscous, and add weight watchers mustard dressing, can also add raisins.posted by borolad

Leek & Corn Couscous
2-3 T ev olive oil,2 medium leeks, cleaned and chopped,1 cup corn kernels,1 cup cold water,1 cup dry white wine,1 cup chicken stock, 2 tsp chopped fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried, 250 - 300g couscous, a handful pitted olives, chopped, 3 T fresh lemon juice, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and corn and sauté until vegetables are soft, about 3 minutes. Add water, wine, broth, and thyme; bring mixture to boil. Remove pan from heat and mix in couscous. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Using fork, fluff couscous. Mix in olives and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature. This is even better the day after it is made. Keep in the fridge and bring to room temp before serving. Is absolutely divine.
posted by jaybee2003

I make a yummy couscous salad
but its kind of a made up! Lots of roasted veges cut up small, eg capsicum, kumara, courgette, pumpkin, beetroot etc (I sprinkle with cumin and dry roast), cut up feta (I use reduced fat), toasted pumpkin seeds and pinenuts, and couscous. I then mix through a lowfat balsamic dressing - its yummy! posted by kasajo

sometimes I make mine tomato flavoured
by adding passata or the juice from a can of whole peeled tomatoes, plus a bit extra water to get the required amount of liquid, heated up (plus the olive oil). If I use the canned tomatoes, I chop them up and stir them through as well, and to add more flavour, I chop up and fry off some (homemade) pancetta. Yum! posted by ucanchoose

My couscous salad is easy
cook your couscous in stock, then just add herbs (parsley, mint, coriander whatever you like), finely diced capsicums (your choice of colours), red onion, diced tomato, great hot or cold.
posted by spongeypud"

thankyou, yes I think its the instant one, maybe I can add it to cassaroles and the roasted veges sound yum, is it a carb like rice!

continued from #10

"Couscous with chickpeas
Heat in a large skillet over medium heat: 3 T olive oil Add 1 C sliced blanched almonds Cook for about a minute 1 t paprika 1 t cumin 1 t coriander 1/2 – 1 t hot red pepper suace Cook about 1 minute. Stir in: 2 1/2 c chicken or vegetable stock 2 c cooked chickpeas 1 c currants Bring to boil and stir in 1 1/4 c couscous. Cover, remove from heat and stand 5 minues. Fluff coucous with fork. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with 1/4 c chopped fresh parsley or cilantro. posted by sam924

Couscous with Corn & Cumin
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed; 1 1/2 cups water; 1 cup couscous; 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped; 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper; 1 clove garlic, minced; 1/2 tsp ground cumin; 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander; Put the corn in a pan and enough water to cover. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes or till tender. Drain and set aside. In a medium pan bring the 1 1/2 cups water to a boil and stir in couscous. Cover and remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Coat a large skillet with no stick spray and warm over heat for 1 minute. Add the jalapeno peppers and bell peppers and cook 3 minutes or till softened. Add the garlic, and cumin. Cook, stirring 1 minute and stir in the corn. Transfer couscous to a large bowl, fluff with a fork and add the corn mixture and coriander. Makes 4 servings posted by fairness

I make a couscous really simply
Basically 2 parts water to 1 part cous cous (a teaspoon of oil per serve of cous cous). Boil water and then stir in cous cous - Stir for approx another 15 seconds then take off heat and keep stirring. Then add one capful of Paul Newman's Balsamic Vinegar for each serving - Everyone I serve this too say's they have never tasted cous cous so yummy - And it is important you use Newman's Own Balsamic - nothing else compares.
posted by noos

My Version
Chop Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots and Onion into inch sized pieces and roast in the oven with salt and rosemary with olive oil. When cooked, soak the couscous and then while still warm stir in the hot baked veges. Pour over a lemon dressing and you have a quick hot Mediterranean salad.yum posted by amazing_grace

I add a few tspns chicken stock to the cooking water. Then I lightly saute chopped onions, chopped celery and crushed garlic infrying pan. Then add chopped ham to heat through properly. I stir that and some chopped chives through to serve. posted by naki45

I cook cous cous re packet instructions. Then once cooled add lemon juice dice cheese, cucumber, capsicum, cherry tomatoes cut in half, chicken pieces and then ill also add some balsamic dressing over top. Delicious. I just use ready made dressings. The one I normally use is ETA - Aged balsamic with Horipito yum. But I am just starting to make my own dressings so will see how that goes. ITs so simple and delicious I love cous cous, would eat it more often if other half liked it but hes boring lol.posted by raackof

I cook my couscous in the pot in the bag. in the meantime deseed a couple capsicums. i then fluff up the couscous with a tidy butter/marg, add m/rooms, grated carrot, courgettes, onions, garlic chill and lemon juice. sometimes I add salami. mix together and stuff the capsicums, top with a lil cheese if desired, yumyum. Low in fat and very tasty and healthy posted by schnaby

a favourite with us.
fry up some thinly sliced chicken or bacon or spicy sausages. boil water and do cup for cup ie 2 cups couscous, 2c boiling water, stir,add some butter,cover 5mins, then add peas and meat plus all the juice from the pan. All done in 5 6mins and very yum! posted by zaylene

Crumble a stock cube into the boiling water you add that to the cous cous, once its absorbed the water zest a lemon into it and stir, add some chopped parsley. great with fish. Also chopped dried apricots and pinenuts or almonds is yum too. posted by mvr":-))

Yes, couscous is a carb - it's a form of pasta.Be careful when adding couscous to casseroles, etc. Couscous can be a very good extender and thickener BUT it can absorb a lot of moisture so it takes very little couscous to thicken a casserole or stew that perhaps you don't want to cook any further as you would if using flour or cornflour as a thickener, however too much added couscous and a thickened or extended couscous could become very ! stodgy (for want of a better word).
IMO until you are fully aware of just how much liquid couscous really can and does absorb you would be better to use the couscous as an accompaniment or in a salad.:-))

continued from #12

"quick and yum
cut 5 small sweet peppers 1 red onion and 3 lrg cloves of garlic 2 corgettes put into pot with 2Tbs of butter cook well then add 1Tbs butter 2 cooked cous fluff with a fork then add 1Tbs of lemon juice (or more if you like it tanggy) then mix peppers ect all together and WALA a yummy dish that can be surved hot or cold with any meat or fish posted by gloriousgirl01

Cous Cous Salad
Add the following to prepared couscous. Cucumber, tomato (both diced) 1 can chickpeas (drained), feta cheese (crumbled) serve with Turkish Kitchens cucumber and yoghurt dressing. So easy and yummy
posted by ams7

TASTE TEMPTER: This is not a recipe, more of an idea of what could be done . I went out for lunch today and had a cous cous stuffed tomato, it had cous cous, chorizo, cheese and something else in it. It was pretty tasty. posted by rebecca12

Couscous with lemon
I used to make this a lot when we had all the family living at home as it's filling and quite cheap. Three cups of couscous (after soaking), the juice and zest of 2 lemons, olive oil (you decide how much, but probably about 1/4 of a cup), one pack of toasted pine nuts, lots of chopped Italian parsley and about a cup of halved cherry tomatoes. Add salt and ground pepper to your taste. The pine nuts add a lovely flavour. Sometimes I also add some diced fried zuchinni. posted by lizay

prep the couscous
in your favourite stock and cut into chunks and roast or saute some capcicums, onions, tomatoes and what ever else u have in ur fridge and toss thru. also jummy if u have left over sausages, just chop them up and toss them thru too. i also use maroccan seasoning, great as a side salad or a main very popular at bbq's. can also use to stuff vegies like capcisums or large tomatoes
posted by brokenbutterfly

I cook the couscous
as per instructions. Roast all my veggies with olive oil, garlic etc (capsicum, red onions, mushrooms, kumara, carrots etc) then mix with the couscous, Add a sprinkle of fresh parsley. Delicious hot or cold.
posted by munderwood

TOP TIP: try using a handful or so when making beef patties, in the place of breadcrumbs. I just let it sit for a few minutes after I added it and then it was easy to shape. posted by rebecca12

Do the instructions on the back of the packet
and then Combine 1T olive oil, 1T white wine vinegar add it too cooked couscous also add some lemon. Then chop up cucumber, cheese, tomatoes add them in you can also use other things like celery, olives etc. Also add some pumpkin, sesame seeds, pine nuts and mix. It is yum and fresh as a side dish or light lunch. I have just made it for our dinner. cant wait. posted by raackof"

There you are bid-warz, now you have a real variety of uses for your "big bag" of couscous.Hope there's plenty that will appeal to you.:-))

Thanks for all those 245sam - I have saved them and going to try something new.

correction re#13 above.
This sentence.
"Couscous can be a very good extender and thickener BUT it can absorb a lot of moisture so it takes very little couscous to thicken a casserole or stew that perhaps you don't want to cook any further as you would if using flour or cornflour as a thickener, however too much added couscous and a thickened or extended couscous could become very ! stodgy (for want of a better word). "

should read.
Couscous can be a very good extender and thickener BUT it can absorb a lot of moisture so it takes very little couscous to thicken a casserole or stew that perhaps you don't want to cook any further as you would if using flour or cornflour as a thickener, however too much added couscous and a thickened or extended CASSEROLE could become very ! stodgy (for want of a better word).

Apologies for that error.:-))

that's an awesome lot of information, thankyou 245sam! bloody good of you!:)

Great recipe ideas there!

Couscous is also a really useful thing to have in your emergency supply kit. It keeps for ages and uses very little water or power to prepare, especially compared to something like pasta. After the first quake in Canterbury we swapped out all our rice and pasta in the emergency kit and replaced it with couscous and stock cubes.

couscous can be bland as 245sam said without flavouring.This is a great salad I make a lot from Simon Holst

1 c cousous add some currants, teaspooon instant stock and 1 1/4 boiling water
cover, let sit then fluff up.Add can chickepeas, red pepper, spring onions, olives (anything you personally like really)

Add a dressing - mix up 1/4 c orange juice, 2T balsamic vinegar, splash of virgin olive oil, 2t ground cumin, bit of salt

toss it all up and wah-lah! very tasty

I like putting a chicken in the crockpot with a lemon cut into 6 and 3-4 garlic cloves. When cooked take the chicken out and pour couscosinto the juices in the pot. Stir and leave to sit until the juices are soaked up. Spoon onto a serving plate and break up chicken over the top. Serve with carrots and greens. Very yummy.