Couscous With Love

Food in films is always a winner.... remember Babette's Feast, Like Water for Chocolate, Big Night, Eat, Drink, Man, Woman... well i have now been inspired by a new French movie - Couscous by Abdellatif Kechiche. If you happen to catch it you might actually be able to pick up the fish couscous recipe.....

Watching the movie and following the recipe I now know the secret for great couscous. There is a great scene where the mother is feeding her children and relatives her couscous that she has lovingly prepared. She describes how she has made this couscous with love.

Here is my vegetarian version with love. Serve with the rocket and orange salad and some fresh mint tea for a great combination.

Couple handfuls of chickpeas (pre-cooked)
1 pepper ( I used a fabulous orange pepper that tasted just great)
1 onion halved and sliced thinly
1 garlic clove (finely chopped)
2/3 potatoes (Cubes)
1/2 carrots (quartered)
1 courgette (cut into chunks)
1 chilli pepper (finely chopped)

100g couscous (I half fill a pasta dish with couscous which works out right for 1/2 people)
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp ground cayenne or chilli pepper
1 tbsp cumin (seeds)
1 tbsp cumin (ground)
Olive oil
Seasoning

(serves 2)

1. Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan and fry the onion until golden.
2. Add the garlic and cook off for around 30 seconds.
3. Meanwhile to prepare the couscous soak it. I usually put a layer of couscous in the bottom of a pasta bowl and pour boiling water over it so that there is about double quantities of water to couscous (like rice making). Let it sit and swell in the dish.
4. Back with the vegetable sauce - add the cumin seeds to the saucepan to bring out that cumin taste, and the cayenne/chilli.
5. Add the fresh chilli (dependent on taste you can vary the quantities of cayenne and chilli.
6. Add the tomato puree and let it cook for 5 minutes.
7. Slowly add some water to the mix.... 1/2 litre to 3/4. Stir throughly.
8. Add the chick peas, the carrots peeled and quartered and the potatoes (cubes).
9. Once the couscous has soaked up much of the water pour it into a colander/steamer and place over the simmering sauce to steam the cous cous - this will make the cous cous even more light and fluffy.
10. I steamed the couscous for a good 10/15 minutes before taking it off the heat and fluffing it with a fork.
11. Add the rest of vegetables and continue to cook until soft.
12. Put the couscous back into the colander and reheat over the sauce. Flavour the sauce and the couscous with the ground cumin.
13. To serve place the couscous in a large serving bowl and mix in the sauce - gently folding in the mixture. The couscous should soak up the sauce and turn a luscious red colour. Flavour with pepper and salt if you wish. Enjoy!