Help please....Last time { a long time ago} I helped daughter prep a salad.....I'm sure she put the cous cous into a bowl and poured boiling water over it ,,Just enough to cover itand left it to stand for around 15 minutes i thinkandthe water evaporatedand thenshe added her ingredientsQ1/ is this right re preparing it ,do I stir it now and then? ...Q2/ do I need to add anything like oil,salt ?? .... Many thanks in advance
245sam,
Dec 14, 7:20pm
annable, the water does not evaporate, the couscous absorbs it, however you are basically correct with the method i.e. the couscous should be placed into a bowl, then the boiling liquid poured over - ideally it is best to use a well-flavoured stock as the couscous, IMO, is really really bland and absolutely tasteless without good flavourings.The bowl with the couscous plus the boiling liquid should then be covered and left to stand, usually for 5 or more minutes, then using a fork, the couscous needs to be thoroughly fluffed up and it's ready to use - to serve as an accompaniment or to have other ingredients added to it e.g. for a salad. Try doing a search here on this Trademe MB using couscous as the Keyword and Anytime as the Date posted option - you should find recipes and ideas/info', but while couscous is so useful, it definitely needs help in the form of flavourings (stock, citrus zest and/or juice, herbs, etc.) to be a tasty part of any meal.
Hope that helps.:-))
multiplayer,
Dec 14, 7:29pm
just bought some before,its really exspensive i feel, paid $7.53 for 198gmade a really nice salad though.
annable,
Dec 14, 7:33pm
Thanks 245sam Ive done it and its come out beautifully ,But because I cant use a chicken or beef stock ,I've just added salt to waterand I'm going to put in lemon and virgin olive oil dressing and refrigerate for a hr or so ... I've got celery,spring onion ,grated carrot ,cherry tomatoes finely chopped ,yellow and red capsicum finely diced ,a bit of mint and parsley ,,,will all those ingredients be ok and with litelemon dressingdo you think ? ...Or maybe a bit of crushed garlic too ?
annable,
Dec 14, 7:49pm
any of the ingredients above I shouldn't put in or in together...anyone please ?
beaker59,
Dec 14, 8:09pm
That is expensive last lot I got was about $4 for 500g from our local PnS
geldof,
Dec 14, 8:09pm
Should be nice as you've suggested.Don't be stingy with the parsley and mint.just check your seasoning. Could also add some feta cheese and the lemon zest.
geldof,
Dec 14, 8:10pm
Wow shouldn't have to pay this much.Binn Inn has it too
245sam,
Dec 14, 8:14pm
annable, as you can't use a meat stock, a good alternative would be a well flavoured vegetable stock. From my experience when using tomatoes, to avoid having a soggy salad (including a couscous salad) because of the juice from tomatoes, IMO it is best to use really small whole cherry tomatoes or well-drained chopped tomatoes, and best of all, don't add them until really close to serving time.
Your mention of mint and parsley reminded me of this easy couscous version of tabouleh:-
I absolutely agree geldof - maybe at that price, the couscous was one of the flavoured sachet/pouch/packet types that are available at the supermarkets. I've just checked with our local (Christchurch) Bin Inn and the price of the couscous from their bin = $7.90 per Kg.:-))
The last time I bought couscous at Bin Inn it was
annable,
Dec 14, 9:42pm
thanks 245sam __Its all made now and beautiful ,next time will try the veg stock :O) ... Now if it was Tabouleh I could make that with my eyes shut ,husbands aunt taught me to make it the traditional waybefore they went to live in Aussie 28years ago ...Non of this supermarket processed stuff in this house...
Many thanks everyone that answered ... :O)
annable,
Dec 14, 9:45pm
Just so you can compare ,,I paid $3.06 for a 500 gram box
multiplayer,
Dec 14, 10:02pm
.. yeah thats more like it.
multiplayer,
Dec 14, 10:07pm
.. yes it was a flavoured sachet, from countdown.. ill be goin to the binn inn from now on, and flavour the couscous myself.
jubellsrose,
Oct 30, 2:19am
even good old P & Save have couscous in bulk.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.