Couscous With Ginger, Orange, Almond & Herbs

PanNan's Note:

Posted for the World Tour 2005 event. The source of the adapted recipe is an article in Fine Cooking about cooking with ginger. The recipe for the article was contributed by Eva Katz who talked about the beautiful fresh ginger she enjoyed while living near Australia's ginger capital - Buderim, Queensland.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ yellow onion , finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 garlic clove , finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger , finely minced
• 1 cup orange juice , freshly squeezed from about 3 oranges, strained to remove pulp
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 9 ounces couscous (about 1-1/2 cups)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup slivered almond , toasted
• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 orange, zest of
• fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan with a tight lid. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until soft but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the orange juice and simmer until the liquid has nearly evaporated, about 10 minutes, stirring as needed to prevent the juice from caramelizing. Add 2 cups water and bring to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat, add the butter, couscous, and salt. Stir, and cover. Let stand for 15 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork. Stir in the almonds, herbs, and orange zest. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Reviews

[Mikekey]

Great couscous! All of the flavors were subtle, with no flavor overpowering any others. This makes a lot, definitely 6 or more side servings. I will cut it in half next time for the two of us, but looking forward to the leftovers from this batch! Was a perfect side for salmon and broccoli.

[katew]

Fabulous ! I served this with chicken and the only change made was instead of almonds I used pine nuts and it was just great !

[JeriBinNC]

I left out the cilantro (didn't have any) and butter, but this was very good with fish and sauteed veggies.