Middle Eastern Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley
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Recipe By: Adapted from Epicurious.com
Serving Size: 8

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter, divided
2/3 cup pine nuts 
2/3 cup shallots, chopped fine
3 cups couscous, Middle Eastern, about 16 oz
2 cinnamon sticks
3 3/4 cups stock, chicken
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoons pepper
1/2 cup parlsley, fresh, minced

Directions:

1. Melt one quarter of the butter in a heavy large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add pine nuts and stir until golden brown, about 8 minutes. You must stir frequently to get sufficient toasting without burning couscous.  When toasted, remove pine nuts from pan.

2. Melt remaining remaining butter in same pan, raising heat to medium. Add shallots and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Add couscous, cinnamon sticks and stir, browning couscous further.  Couscous will brown unevenly, but some grains should be medium to dark brown, which will take 5-10 minutes, depending on your pan. Add broth, salt and pepper, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until couscous is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.  Couscous should be firm but tender. 

3. If serving immediately, remove from pan, add parsley and pine nuts.  Serve. 
To hold for service, place couscous on wide sheet pan to cool.  When ready to serve, stir in parsley and pine nuts. Transfer to oven-proof serving dish. Cover and reheat for service.
Husband and I went shopping yesterday to find our ingredients.  I made the mistake of taking him to the new Standard Market.  I like Whole Foods; he likes Costco.  Standard Market is like a higher-end Whole Foods (didn’t know that was possible). One look at the beautiful displays and husband knew he was in trouble.  He grabbed one of the little shopping baskets and tried to shove it in my hand.  I assured him a needed a cart.  He insisted I did not.  I insisted I did, and grabbed one.

As I eyed all the beautiful prepackaged and trimmed meat products in small portions he paced nervously and started hyperventilating.  He couldn’t stand it any longer when I picked up a single marinated chicken breast in a hygienic sealed package for $8.99.  He bolted to the bread aisle to breathe.

We met up in produce to pick out the shallots.  Neither of us wanted to admit we weren’t sure what a shallot looked like.  We both knew it was in the onion family.  I thought green onions were probably close enough.  He shook his head and picked up a leek. “This,” he said “is a shallot.”

I finally whipped out the argument-solving iPhone and googled shallot:

Now, at least we knew what we were looking for.  Our next argument was at the grain bins (they were really more like chutes).  Husband looked at the pine nuts.

Husband: $40 a freakin’ pound??!!  #@*&%!!

Me: Well … pine nuts are expensive.

Husband: silence

Me: Well, they probably don’t weigh much – maybe it’s only a few bucks for the 2 cups we need.

Husband: I’ll go buy them at Trader Joes

Me: Fine, let’s just get the couscous here.

Husband:  They don’t sell that here.

Me: They have to.

Husband: They don’t have any grains.  Let’s go.

I quickly slipped a beautiful pork roast under the bag of parsley and shallots and we checked out.  Husband left to sit in the car so he didn’t have to see the final bill.  I didn’t tell him the bottle of cinnamon sticks I also stuck in were $6.50 (and we only needed one).

As I unpacked, husband ran to Trader Joe’s.  It took 3 phone calls to clarify the ingredients.  Roasted or raw pine nuts?  How much couscous?   Domestic or imported? The pine nuts were about $12 for a pound, so I really saved $28 so far.  Unfortunately concealing the cinnamon stick purchase cost me another $5 as husband bought a 2nd bottle at Trader Joes.

Here we go:

Husband:  Did you tell Jeannee that I got real Israeli couscous?

Me: No.

Husband:  Tell her.  Tell her it’s imported.  From Israel.

Me: OK, but I won’t tell her you bought a dried bay leaf

Husband:  They wanted $12 a bunch at your fancy store and we only needed one.  Do you want me to tell her that you bought stock.  It’s not even stock, it’s broth.

Me: Well it’s free range broth.  Besides, who makes stock?

Husband: Jeannee would.

I am ready to begin.  I spy the Land O Lakes butter and a memory from Fairview Elementary School resurfaces — how the boys took that lovely Pocahontas:

and turned her into a piece of playground porn that was passed around in whispers and giggles.  My arthritic hands can hardly replicate it:

Anyway, back to my recipe.

This was pretty simple.  What I realize is that I often skip steps like browning the pine nuts and browning the couscous – which is probably why my cooking is bland.  At the same time I am wondering how 2 little cinnamon sticks are going to flavor all that couscous.  I was so tempted to sprinkle in a little ground cinnamon.

I texted Jeannee five times during the process and she told me to stop texting her  (she was finishing up making the stock for her recipe and also doesn’t understand why people don’t just pick up the phone).  I explained that I was browning and I didn’t have a free hand to dial.  Besides with Siri I can voice text.

My Israeli couscous is now cooling and I will assemble later.