Couscous mon amour?

We had 17 people over for diner tonight. :help:

Instead of a curry (see last year's curry thread) I made a couscous with all the works: lamb chops stewed in a broth of vegetables, beer and various condiments; chick peas; lemon olives; chopped tomatoes; green olives; fresh paprika; sweet peppers; feta cheese; stewed carrots; a Turkish bread the size of a surf-board, and of course a scintillating sauce of chopped onion, garlic, courgette, apricots and tomato paste, and the whole thing topped with fresh coriander. It's an easy recipe, great fun to make (kids love to sit around a table with the adults and cut the ingredients) and there's something in it for everyone. The red, green, yellow and orange colours are very festive and every bite brings a surprise: the sauce is rich and salty, until you taste a bit of apricot, the next moment it's a shred of fresh coriander, or a bit of sweet-bitter lemon peel, or a strain of hot pepper.

Anobody else into couscous?

Maybe you can tell me what to do with the remaining bread. I have something left of all the ingredients mentioned, so can I slap up a good breakfast with them? Or a lunch?

https://img50.imageshack.us/img50/1727/couscousgp3.jpg

Very nice! Invite me next time I'll bring a top shelf bottle of wine.

I'm a big couscous fan but never prepare it as elborately as you did. Mine is usually very simple with veggies and hummus, maybe with some fish, and always with lots of hot peppers.

With do have a nice Morrocan restaurant in the next town over, they make it as you did, but I'll bet yours was better.

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Originally Posted by Beirut

With do have a nice Morrocan restaurant in the next town over, they make it as you did, but I'll bet yours was better.

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You are too kind as usual. The Moroccans let it simmer in a tajin, which is to couscous what the tandoori oven is to curries, or the masonry oven to pizza. I had couscous waaaaay back in the 1970's in Casablanca, but I'm afraid nothing has stuck from that trip apart from the memory of the miraculous effects of certain substances on the human mind, oh, and the effect of gravel roads on motorbike tires...

https://img181.imageshack.us/img181/320/tajinnl2.jpg

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Originally Posted by Adrian II

The Moroccans let it simmer in a tajin, which is to couscous what the tandoori oven is to curries, or the masonry oven to pizza.

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They serve it one of those at the restaurant, cooked with prunes and lamb. It hits the table at about 800 degrees. Lots of time to talk and drink while it cools down to the boiling point. (Don't forget the Harisa!)

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Originally Posted by Adrian II

I had couscous waaaaay back in the 1970's in Casablanca, but I'm afraid nothing has stuck from that trip apart from the memory of the miraculous effects of certain substances on the human mind...

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Ahh, at the Fez campgrounds, were we? I am jelous of your adventure there. Sounds... lovely.

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Originally Posted by AdrianII

and the effect of gravel roads on motorbike tires...

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...and fenders; my most vivid memory of rural southern Ontario, western Washington State, and Hondouras.

Your meal sounds dee-lish. I have zero experience with Couscous-done-right. What I've been served, and tried to cook myself, came out as gruel that, though filling, I felt I had to 'fix' with peppers and Tabasco sauce, which I'm pretty sure is a sacrilege in some religion somewhere.

http://www.marrakesh.us/menu.cfm

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Third Main Course

Couscous Grand Atlas Topped with Vegetables, Chick Peas, and Raisins

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http://www.marrakesh.us/index.cfm?page=1.300

I'll have to try it tomorrow but it doesn't sound quite as good.

We solved the lunch problem. We are going to put all the stuff on the table and eat it. Brilliant! :grin:

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Originally Posted by KukriKhan

...and fenders; my most vivid memory of rural southern Ontario, western Washington State, and Hondouras.

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To be honest we weren't fast enough to experience fender trouble. I had a rather delapidated Puch Sky Something. Skyway I believe, after looking at some websites. Not a motorbike at all, just a moped.

https://img371.imageshack.us/img371/...way1972la5.jpg


It had a high handlebar (you wouldn't be seen dead without one) and a nice, padded cruising saddle. The police wouldn't chase this thing of the main roads yet (this was 1976) although they looked like crap. Correction, theyw ere crap. I couldn't afford anything better.

Heck, I couldn't afford anything whatsoever. I remember toward the end of our stay in Morocco we discussed bringing back some of the wondrous weeds we had discovered to The Netherlands, in order to educate the masses and stiffen our pitiful wallets at the same time. We decided against it because we probably wouldn't even have made it across to Tangiers without getting caught. I mean we were mean, hungry, long-haired riff-raff (at least that's what we pretended) and for police that was good enough.

This one comes close (random pic from the Web) :laugh4:

https://img371.imageshack.us/img371/...lerbankgo2.jpg

Was thinking of opening couscousbar for the hip trendy lunchers but figured I need a bigger town to make that fly. But fly it will, cheap easy and tasty, and most of all easy to preserve.

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Originally Posted by Fragony

Was thinking of opening couscousbar for the hip trendy lunchers but figured I need a bigger town to make that fly. But fly it will, cheap easy and tasty, and most of all easy to preserve.

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Try opening one in Utrecht. They even have Ethiopian, Eritrean and related restaurants and these go down extremely well with the lounging crowd. Add a take-away or Asian toko-formula for yuppies and you're golden.

P.S. You may have to hire one or two Moroccans... :grin:

Was thinking of Rotterdam, it needs that metropolitan feel, Utrecht is too quaint. It's a solid idea pretty confident I can make it happen.

edit, will have to hire two hip marrocans, I would be aiming for the yuppies of course.

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Originally Posted by Fragony

Was thinking of Rotterdam, it needs that metropolitan feel, Utrecht is too quaint. It's a solid idea pretty confident I can make it happen.

edit, will have to hire two hip marrocans, I would be aiming for the yuppies of course.

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Hire two brothers, the older, grumpy one should be the cook, the younger takes care of the bar and serving staff. If you hire a Dutch cook he will turn the couscous into nasi rames and your formula is ******. The waiters/waitresses should be 1 black Ghanean, 1 New York Jew and 1 extremely beautiful blond girl from Friesland. You yourself should stay miles away from the restaurant lest you chase away the multiculti guests you hate so much.. :mellow:.

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Originally Posted by Vladimir

http://www.marrakesh.us/index.cfm?page=1.300

I'll have to try it tomorrow but it doesn't sound quite as good.

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That's the place downtown with the belly-dancers, right? I went there a couple of years ago with some friends, good food. :yes: And the dancers were pretty amazing as well.

what kind of beer?

I don't know about fine couscous dining, but I do know it cooks in about 2 seconds flat in a trangia, thereby enabling you to economise on fuel when on mad hiking trips in the mountains.

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Originally Posted by English assassin

I don't know about fine couscous dining, but I do know it cooks in about 2 seconds flat in a trangia, thereby enabling you to economise on fuel when on mad hiking trips in the mountains.

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All it takes is boiling water, grit and a bit of oil or butter, right?

Oh, and there is nothing refined about the rest either. You just buy a lot of fresh goodies, cut them to pieces and stuff yourself. Well alright, the sauce takes some stirring. Big deal.

I usually make it with squid in its own ink. Usually comes pre-cooked, so I just add it to the cous-cous when it's almost ready. Yum.

aargh - I always fail with anything other than the instant nuke in microwave variety

how do you stop it turning into one large lump of goo?
(and why are all the blokes here better cooks than me?)

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Originally Posted by Makanyane

How do you stop it turning into one large lump of goo?

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By adding boiling water slowly, just enough to let the grit swell. Then let it simmer for a minute, after which you add the oil or butter. It turns into goo only if you add too much water, oil or butter.

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(and why are all the blokes here better cooks than me?)

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Because we are the Lords of Creation (and look what a mess we've made of it).

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Originally Posted by Adrian II

By adding boiling water slowly, just enough to let the grit swell. Then let it simmer for a minute, after which you add the oil or butter. It turns into goo only if you add too much water, oil or butter.

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Apparently my mistake.