Correctly known as moghrabieh, yet I think giant couscous sounds more fun and needs less explaining. A style of couscous originating from Lebanon, these are much larger and are commonly cooked into brothy soups. I love that they are easy to prepare, textural to eat and look remarkably modern to serve.
Giant couscous salad with pinenuts, lemon zest and pomegranate
Moghrabieh -they swell to double the size so judge accordingly to how much you want as a finished salad
chicken stock (use vegetarian if you prefer)
toasted pinenuts
a lemon; zested and then juiced
pomegranate seeds
spanish onion
red chilli
mint
parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
S+P
Add the giant couscous to enough stock to cover and gently simmer until it is just cooked, a little al dente as the Italians would say is ideal
Drain and while still warm dress with 1/3 lemon juice to 2/3 EVOO, salt and pepper and the roughly chopped herbs
Add all the other ingredients and toss together, taste for extra lemon juice and serve at room temperature
Perfect for a balmy evening like last night.
maghrebia. Sounds a bit like an iraqi detention centre.
ReplyDeleteGiant Couscous sounds like a lot more fun than that!
Hi Jack,
ReplyDeleteOff topic as usual, though the salad looks awesome (I am of arab descent but have never seen giant couscous), BUT where was the place you blogged lou pescadou in france? somewhere on the coast to barcelona... i am doing this exact route and dont want to miss a cheap feed...
oh god, i love maghrebia. although, i wouldn't trust me right now, i have been sitting here drinking wine for quite some time on my own. i may love everything.
ReplyDeleteGrocer, LOL, definitly much more fun!
ReplyDeleteBunches, Hendricks one day, wine the other, at least your having fun!
Ran, the couscous is usually only stocked in the speciality stores in Melbourne, I had it in a hot pot at Mama Ganoush recently as well.
To answer your question, Lou Pescadou was in Adge in the Languedoc area, along the French coast a little along from Marsailles towards Barcelona.
The address is 18 rue Chassefiere, Adge. We had no problems finding it along the quay. Beware that you will be sharing with the locals on long tables(! we loved that!) and that the wine is as cheap as the food (!!!).They were very busy when we were there so go early-ish. Wish I could join you, it was incredibly fun and great value.
BTW Adge had the most amazing beach i have ever seen in my life (and I'm from Sydney), it was totally tiny black pebbles and you had to climb through a carved staircase in the rock face to get there. Just perfect.
We also had some amazing baby mussels and fries the next day for lunch, cooked just like at the Belgian Beer cafe in melb but tiny and addictive, at a little place along the quay as well. Loved Adge! Have fun.
Jack
Thanks Jack. I am from Sydney too and always think i will never see beaches better anywhere else, so really want to check it out now!
ReplyDeleteI also really want to try mama ganoush, will have to be when i get back...