Green Couscous
Episode 101: Savory Staples
Recipe: Green Couscous
Couscous, a favorite in North African cuisine, is now available in supermarkets everywhere. With its green herb puree, this is ideal served with fish.
Serves 4
1 cup loosely packed fresh herb leaves (a mixture of chives, parsley, tarragon, and basil)
2 garlic cloves
3/4 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup instant couscous
1/2 teaspoon salt
Process the herbs, garlic, and 1/4 cup of the boiling water in a blender or mini-chop for about 30 seconds, or until smooth.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the couscous and salt and mix well to coat the couscous with the butter. Add the herb puree and the remaining 1/2 cup boiling water and mix well. Cover and let stand off the heat for 10 minutes.
Fluff the couscous with a fork and serve.
Copyright © 2011 by Jacques Pépin. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
This looks delicious. I’m a couscous lover, but since I don’t keep fresh herbs, will prepare this dish using dried herbs (in much lower quantity, “to taste”) instead of the fresh herbs listed.
Thanks, Jacque, for the excellent, easy dish.
Dried herbs? Why bother? The point of this sort of recipe is the freshness. Treat yourself.
At least get some fresh parsley and basil and use minced shallot in place of the chives for the onion element. (The tarragon’s less readily available and a little of dried won’t hurt.) You can use the left over herbs to make pestos which will freeze well and be available for all sorts of things besides the green couscous (ex: add to soups, salad dressings, pasta sauces).
If you freeze the pestos flat in ziplock freezer bags, it will be easy to cut out 1-2 Tbs as needed or defrost the whole thing in minutes.
Love the idea of saving the extra pesto. I would recommend using ice cube trays and spoon in the let over mixture and then of course freezing it.