Last year, I had a perfectly spiced Moroccan vegetable and couscous dish at a restaurant in Minnesota. Tangy, sweet, and rich with multiple flavors from herbs and the individual vegetables. And the couscous - what a great grain complement.
I have never made couscous at home, but inspired by this meal memory, I decided to try my hand at it. And as I do, I turned to Cook's Illustrated first for recipe ideas and settled on their Moroccan Chickpea and Vegetable Couscous recipe.
Unfortunately, as the post title suggests, I was underwhelmed by this couscous as it tasted quite bland. Chickpeas, peas, carrots and couscous. Nothing more, nothing less. The fresh and dried herbs didn't really come through, and while extra lime juice helped, it still didn't do much. Oh well, at least I tried couscous!
And most important, I learned that you don't need to cook couscous on the stovetop, rather just pour boiling water / broth over the dried couscous (toasted in this case), cover, and let the hot liquid "cook" the couscous for several minutes. Hopefully, I find a better recipe for my next couscous attempt!
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