Fragrant Cous-Cous

Cous cous is one of my favourite accompaniments which I do not limit to Morroccan or Middle-Eastern food. I find that it is actually very versatile and weight for weight cooked it is less calorie rich than rice or pasta, therefore making it a great choice when counting calories. I don’t find the need to add any fat or oil either, making it fat free, but it is up to you to add some olive oil to have a richer taste. This particular cous cous dish goes especially well with grilled chicken or fish, therefore making either of these instantly more interesting!

 Ingredients

• 150g Cous cous
• 250ml Fluid (water)
• 4 Pieces sun dried tomato
• 25g Raisins or sultanas
• 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp Coriander leaves or flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Half a teaspoon of cumin powder
• Half a teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1 tsp Smoked paprika (pimenton)
• Salt to taste

Serves 2 portions. Approx 360kcal per portion 

The first step is to dice the sun dried tomatoes and place in a small bowl with the sultanas. Cover with some boiling water to rehydrate. This can take between 10 and 15 minutes but you can speed this up by placing in a Microwave oven at full power for about 3 minutes making sure there’s enough water all the way through. Once these are rehydrated spoon them out and retain the fluid (stock) which will be added to the cous cous. Make this stock up to 250ml with boiling water.

Place the cous cous in a bowl and add all the spices, the raisins / sultanas, and sun dried tomatoes. Add the stock and cover with a plate. Keep it covered for approximately 5 minutes until all the stock is soaked up by the cous cous.

Just before serving add the coriander or parsley (whichever you prefer), salt to taste, and serve as a side dish to your fish or chicken.

Suggestion: To make it even more interesting and tasty try adding the zest of one unwaxed lemon to the cous cous before you add the stock. This will make it tangy and very fragrant.