I had my first couscous dish when I was in the United Kingdom a couple of decades ago. Here in New Zealand, it was a dish that wasn’t part of the traditional fare. Having no idea about what couscous even was, I remember the nutty taste and said, “This tastes like my mother’s semolina dessert.” How true that was.
Coming from West African cuisine, couscous is now a pantry staple for many. It is actually rolled balls of semolina.
Semolina is coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making couscous, pasta, and sweet puddings. Hence, my comment at the time about my mother’s choice of dessert when I was young.
Semolina flour is a coarse, pale yellow flour made from a type of wheat called durum wheat. Durum wheat is the hardest species of wheat, so it has a high protein and gluten content.
Durum wheat is also high in selenium, which is great for your thyroid. But for those of you who are gluten intolerant, then just be cautious of your cous cous, because it has a higher gluten level compared to other wheats. Hence, if you are working with cous cous, you need to soak it and cook it well, so you don’t feel too bloated.
My daughter, Georgia, had friends over for dinner the other night and told me she was making a delicious cous cous dish. I knew I had to share it with you, especially those of you, who need a selenium boost for your ageing thyroid!
Ingredients
Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side.
This easy recipe takes about 30 minutes to make.
- 2x carrots
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Carrot spices: 1tsp cumin, 1tsp coriander, ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp turmeric
- 4x garlic cloves, diced
- 1x onion, diced
- 2 cups of vegetable stock
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 cup of couscous
- A handful of apricots or dates
- A handful of olives
- Any herbs you like. I used mint and coriander
Method
- Chop the carrots into small chunks, and place in a mixing bowl along with the spice mix and the olive oil. Stir through so the carrots are coated.
- Heat a large, deep frying pan on a medium heat with a splash of olive oil. Fry the onion for approximately 4 minutes, until it is golden but not burnt. At this point, add the garlic and carrots to the pan and fry for another 5 minutes.
- Add the vegetable stock and lemon juice to the pan and turn up the heat slightly so that the water is boiling. Let the carrots boil for 5 minutes. At this point, add the cup of couscous to the pan and turn the heat down to low. Leave the couscous to simmer for 10 minutes (or until the couscous is just cooked, but not too soft). You will need to keep stirring the couscous and checking it is not sticking to the bottom. Add more water when necessary.
- While the couscous is cooking, chop up the fresh herbs and apricots.
- Remove the couscous from the heat, and add to a salad bowl along with the herbs, olives and apricots.
