This is a slightly fancier couscous that pairs the sweetness of green raisins and caramelised onions, with the fresh citrus kick of a lemon-jalapeño salsa. A big thanks to Otto Lenghi for such inspiring dishes - I can honestly recommend his cook book "Simple" (recognisable by the big lemon on the cover).
Ingredients (2-3 servings):
For the Couscous:
250g Couscous
5 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Raz El Hanout
Pepper
300g Cherry Tomatoes (with a small cut into the skin on the bottom)
4 Garlic Cloves (thinly sliced. Also: there is no such thing as too much garlic, so feel free to double up)
4 Shallots (sliced into thin rings)
30g Green Raisins
50g Almonds (roasted, unsalted and coarsely chopped)
10g Fresh Mint (finely chopped)
10g Fresh Cilantro (finely chopped)
For the Yoghurt and Lemon Salsa:
3 small Salt-Lemons, deseeded (Albert Heijn has them, otherwise: Turkish supermarkets)
1 Green Jalapeño, deseeded
3 large Garlic Cloves
2 tbsp Olive Oil
150g Greek Yoghurt
1 Cucumber (cut into cubes)
200g Cherry Tomatoes (halved)
2 Shallots (roughly chopped)
2 tsp Cumin Seeds, roasted and ground
2 tbsp Lemon Juice
5 twigs Fresh Mint (finely chopped)
Method
Start with the Couscous:
In a large bowl, mix the couscous (250g) with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 generous teaspoon of Raz El Hanout, and 1 generous pinch of freshly ground pepper. Pour 200-250ml of hot water over the couscous, cover and leave to soak for 10-20 minutes (this will depend on the couscous: some only take five minutes, some take longer).
In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes (300g) and grill until they start bursting and charring, while stirring occasionally (this will make a mess, so you might want to grab a lid for the pan or grab an apron). Once done, pour the tomatoes and juice onto a plate. Salt to taste. Give the pan a wipe with a kitchen paper towel, then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil once again. Heat the oil to medium high heat and add the sliced schallots (4 schallots), garlic (4 cloves), and 1 teaspoon of Raz El Hanout. While occasionally stirring, cook the shallots and garlic until they turn slightly brown and soft. Remove from the heat, stir in the raisins, and leave to cool.
Once the couscous has finished soaking, mix it up using a fork. Carefully mix in the grilled schallots, garlic, raisins, almonds, chopped mint and cilantro, and garnish with the charred tomatoes. Set aside.
Continue with the Lemon Salsa and Yoghurt:
For the salsa, combine the salt lemons, jalapeño, 3 garlic cloves and 2 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a food processor.
Add the yoghurt to a large bowl and carefully mix in the cucumber, cherry tomatoes, shallots, cumin seeds, lemon juice and mint (5 twigs).
Garnish the yoghurt with the lemon salsa and serve together with the couscous. Enjoy :)
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