I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to publish a couscous recipe. As a born and raised Moroccan, one would expect to see my branchy blog burgeoning with couscous recipes of all sorts.
The first time my mom looked at Mon Blogue, she surprisingly and somewhat disappointedly asked: “Feen Kesksou?” , “where is the couscous?” in a tone that suggested that I had screwed up again and made another one of my “pearls” (big mistakes that I specialize in, according to my mom) “Tu as Encore Fait Une Perle?”. The absence of couscous hit her almost as hard as my decision to move to the US.
This weekend, I went shopping for boots. I was picking out what was supposed to be John’s birthday present for me. After many try-on, I finally found the boots of my dreams: a pair of Clarks Artisan Flirty at an unbeatable price.
They were so comfortable. I wore them right there and then at the Florida Mall and walked and walked. I felt taller, more powerful and oh so sexy!
Other than my boot obsession which ended happily, all I was thinking about was couscous. A mother blaming me for a couscous-less blog, readers’ e-mails asking if couscous was really Moroccan, and if so, if I could provide some recipes, not to mention my own guilt for letting everybody down and serving everything but couscous.
I apologize. As usual, I didn’t mean to cause any hard feelings. I just forgot.
Well, it’s time for me to mend fences, time to caress cheeks, time to make couscous. This is only one of many recipes I’ll be making, you’ll be making. I promise
Couscous Salad with Cranberries and Pine Nuts
4 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 cup instant couscous
- 1/2 cup pine nuts
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- ½ teaspoon grated orange zest
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
Directions:
Step 1: Bring the water to a boil. Stir in the salt, butter, and couscous. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand 5 minutes.
Step 2: Fluff the couscous with a fork and add the pine nuts, cranberries, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. In another bowl, stir together the orange juice, orange zest, and yogurt. Gently incorporate the liquid mixture into the couscous, and toss.
Step 3: Serve the couscous at room temperature in small bowls, plates, or dessert cups. If you wish, garnish with confectioner’s sugar and mint leaves before serving.