Green Couscous from Ottolenghi’s Plenty - IHCC

This week’s theme for our Ottolenghi IHCC is go with the grain, there is myriad of delicious options to choose from but it was this green couscous that caught my eye with it’s vibrant green herby paste, peppery rocket & pistachios.

 There’s something about all that green that is the perfect pick me up on wet & grey Autumn Sunday.  And when I say wet I don’t mean a few showers or a little drizzle I mean a fully fledged downpour bordering on torrential.    The windscreen wipers going like the clappers  & still only a foot or 2 of visibility ahead as, even Auckland, drivers slowed to a cautious crawl.  There is, though, something about that kind of rain that makes we want to venture outside, maybe just to see how really wet it could possibly be, but just to stand there & be soaked right to the skin in the downpour.

“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.” 

― Roger Miller

So this is what brightened up my Sunday, even though I kind of like the rain too.

Green Couscous from Ottolenghi’s Plenty

Serves 4

Ingredients

150g couscous

160ml boiling water or vegetable stock

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cumin

50g pistachios, shelled & toasted

3 spring onion, finely sliced

1 fresh green chilli*, thinly sliced

30g rocket, chopped

Herb Paste

20g flat-leaf parsley

20g coriander

2 tbsp tarragon

2 tbsp dill

2 tbsp mint

90ml olive oil

*I used one of the gorgeous serrano’s picked up from Orcona Chillis ‘n Peppers the Hawke’s Bay Farmers Market

Directions

Place couscous in a large bowl & add boiling water or stock. Cover the bowl with cling film & let it stand for 10 minutes.  

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over a medium heat & add the onion. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring now & then until golden & soft.  Add salt & cumin mix well & leave it to cool.

For the herb paste...

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor & blitz until smooth.  Add the herb paste to the couscous & mix it all together. Fluff it up with a fork. Add the cooked onion, pistachios, spring onions, green chilli & rocket & gently mix until well combined.  Serve at room temperature.

Something this green can only be bright & wonderfully nourishing. It is fresh & full of a myriad of flavours & textures that come together to create vibrant, fragrant salad.  A lovely sweetness from the sauteed onions, a sweet crunch from the pistachios, a little heat from the chilli all enveloped in the verdant & herby paste.  This one is another keeper & lunch for the next couple of days.

If you like this you might like these...

London Eats - Ottolenghi

Chicken with Sumac, Za'atar & Pine Nuts

Sweet Potato & Goat's Cheese Tart

Enjoy!