Tag: couscous

Cold couscous, recipes and advice – Italian Cuisine

Versatile, simple to prepare, couscous in summer has an extra gear because even served cold it is a dish that can reserve great satisfactions. Here are three recipes and a few tips to be on the safe side

Couscous is a dish made from grains of wheat semolina blanched in boiling water. It seems to come from afar – the best known recipe is the one that is prepared in some North African countries – but in reality it is also part of the Italian gastronomic culture, especially of that Sicilian and that Sardinian. Couscous is very versatile, it goes well with many ingredients, it is simple to prepare and in summer it has an extra gear. Here are some tricks and three recipes to prepare an excellent cold couscous.

And did you know that couscous is an Italian dish?

Five tricks for a perfect couscous

Preparing couscous is so simple that even a child could do it, but to do it properly it is important to follow these five tips. First, to cook it it should not be boiled. The semolina should, however, be placed in a large pan with a high edge, covered flush with the already salted boiling water and left to rest for a few minutes. To reach the perfect cooking point le proportions of water and couscous must be one by one. To shell the couscous, add a drizzle of oil and use your fingers, not the fork. And finally, do not go overboard with the dressing, otherwise the flavor of the couscous will be covered. Here it is now three recipes for the summer.

Have you ever thought of being able to perfume couscous water?

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Chickpea, feta and summer vegetable couscous

Carbohydrates, proteins and vitamins all contained in a single dish, fresh and light. To prepare the chickpea, feta and summer vegetable couscous serve 300 grams of couscous, 300 ml of water, 250 grams of boiled chickpeas, two courgettes, a red pepper, a carrot, a spring onion, 50 grams of pitted black olives, 150 grams of feta cheese, oil, salt, pepper and fresh mint. Wash all the vegetables and cut them into cubes. Cook them in a pan with a drizzle of oil starting with the peppers and then adding the carrots, courgettes and spring onion, in order to preserve their crunchiness. Boil the water, salt it and pour it on the couscous. Leave to rest for five minutes and shell with a drizzle of oil. Then pour it into a bowl, add the vegetables after salting them, the olives, the diced feta and the chickpeas. Season with oil and pepper, season with salt and garnish with mint leaves.

Why not try: Our recipes for vegetarian couscous

THESaffron and anchovy couscous salad

For thecouscous salad with saffron and anchovies 300 grams of couscous, 300 ml of water, 50 grams of pickled capers, 80 grams of pitted Taggiasca olives, an ox heart tomato, four cherry tomatoes, half a lemon, 12 fresh anchovies, oil, salt, pepper, a bag of saffron and a sprig of basil. Heat the water, salt it, add the saffron and pour it on the couscous. Leave to rest for five minutes and shell with your fingers adding a drizzle of oil. Fillet the anchovies, season with lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper and cook them in a pan on high heat for two minutes. In a bowl pour the couscous, olives, capers, diced ox-heart tomato. Season with a drizzle of oil and ground pepper. Fill the pastry rings with the seasoned couscous and garnish with the anchovies, the tomatoes divided in half and the basil sprigs.

Couscous with aromatic herb and almond pesto

The ingredients for the couscous with aromatic herb and almond pesto are 300 grams of couscous, 300 ml of water, two spring onions, a mixed bunch of coriander, thyme and mint, a couple of pickled red peppers, a spoonful of peeled almonds, 600 grams of chicken breast, a spoonful of flour, a spoonful of paprika, half a lemon, oil, pepper and salt. Put the aromatic herbs, spring onions, almonds, juice and zest of half a lemon, a drizzle of oil in the mixer and blend everything until a creamy mixture is obtained. Boil the water and pour it over the couscous, let it sit for five minutes and shell it with your fingers. At this point, pour it into a bowl, season it with the aromatic herb pesto and the peppers cut into strips. Pour the flour and paprika on a plate, bread the diced chicken breast, sauté them in a pan with a drizzle of oil and place them on top of the couscous.

5 reasons to include couscous in your menu

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Chocolate couscous cake – Italian Cuisine

First prepare the couscous: boil the milk with the vanilla bean and sugar, then remove the vanilla and add the couscous.
Turn off the heat, stir and wait for a few minutes for the couscous to absorb the milk.

When the couscous has absorbed all the milk (5-10 minutes should suffice), add the chopped chocolate and mix, then add the amaretti (coarsely crumbled) and the eggs.

Chop the biscuits and add the melted butter.
Then use the mixture to line the bottom of the mold (after coating it with parchment paper), compacting it well.

Also pour the couscous mixture into the mold, level the surface and cook for about 40 minutes in a preheated convection oven at 170 ° C.

The chocolate couscous cake is ready: let it cool completely, then decorate with icing sugar and serve.

Yellow tomato gazpacho and couscous, an idea for the appetizer – Italian Cuisine

A sweeter version of the usual gazpacho that will make you appreciate yellow datterini and bring a new color to the table

Do you fancy something fresh and at the same time tantalizing that won't force you into the kitchen for hours? The recipe of the yellow tomato gazpacho and couscous it's what you need, because it is a light dish, but it gives great satisfaction! It can be prepared in advance and seasoned at the last moment for a quick lunch or a fresh appetizer: the result will be guaranteed and everything will seem freshly made.

Yellow is the color of sweetness

The color in tomatoes, but also in peppers, it does not only characterize its aesthetics but also its taste. As for the peppers, between the spiciest green and the more decisive red, the yellow variety is the one with a more juicy and delicate pulp, almost sweet. The same goes for tomatoes. In particular, the yellow cherry tomato it is acid free and this gives it an extremely sweet and delicate taste. This tomato so special, which cannot stand temperatures below 5 degrees and which needs a lot of sun to grow full of taste, is only grown in the southern regions where summer lasts well beyond the canonical 3 months.

gazpacho-of-tomato-yellow

How to recognize a ready avocado

In this recipe it also plays a fundamental role avocado. But do you know you will choose one ready to use? There are many types on the market, the easiest to find is the Hass quality, which has a slightly lumpy and irregular skin. In this case, a ripe avocado will have a dark brown skin. Another method of understanding the right ripening of this fruit it is putting it in the palm of one hand and exerting slight pressure: if the fingers will sink into the fruit then forget it, it is already too mature. If, on the other hand, the fruit appears to be slightly soft, then it is ready to be eaten. Another way to understand if avocado is ripe is to understand color is the skin under the stalk: if once removed you will see green skin then your avocado is ready. If it should be black, leave it alone, it is still unripe.

The recipe for yellow tomato and couscous gazpacho

Ingredients

600 g yellow cherry tomatoes, 80 g yellow pepper, 2 tablespoons of vinegar, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 cucumber, 100 g couscous, 20 g grated pecorino cheese, 4 ice cubes, 100 g bread, extra virgin olive oil, a few leaves of fresh basil, salt, pepper.

Method

Cut the bread into small pieces and wet it with vinegar and 100 ml of water. Pour the couscous into a glass and measure another equal with the water inside. Put the couscous on a plate and season it with a drizzle of oil, in the meantime bring the water from the other glass to a boil with a little salt and then pour it boiling over the couscous, cover and let it swell. Then shell it with a fork, season it again with a drizzle of oil and pecorino cheese and stir. Pour the couscous on a baking tray covered with parchment paper and toast it for 5 minutes in the preheated oven at 200 °. Take the tomatoes, clean them and cut them into wedges and put them in the blender together with the clean and sliced pepper. Add the soaked bread with its liquid, ice, salt, pepper and 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Blend everything coarsely. Spread the gazpacho into 4 bowls, add the avocado cut into squares and the cucumber slices. Finish with the crispy couscous, the basil leaves and serve immediately.

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