Barefoot Bloggers: Curried Couscous

For this week's Barefoot Bloggers' recipe, Ellyn at Recipe Collector and Tester selected Ina's "Curried Couscous" (from Ina's original Barefoot Contessa cookbook!). I've always been a fan of couscous, so I was curious to try out this recipe (and actually surprised I hadn't tried it already!). I was quite pleased with how easy it was and how fast it was to cook up... In fact, I've already made it TWICE in the past week. More details below:

Barefoot Contessa's CURRIED COUSCOUS

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups couscous
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup small-diced carrots
• 1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup dried currants or raisins
• 1/4 cup blanched, sliced almonds
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
• 1/4 cup small-diced red onion

What to do:
Place the couscous in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in the boiling water and pour over the couscous. Cover tightly and allow the couscous to soak for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Pour over the fluffed couscous, and mix well with a fork. Add the carrots, parsley, currants, almonds, scallions, and red onions, mix well, and season to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Results/Comments:

A perfect meal for the summer -- very light and great by itself or combined with your favorite protein.

Because I tend to prefer my carrots cooked, the first time I tried this recipe I sauteed the carrots briefly. The second time I tried the recipe, we didn't cook the carrots -- this added more of a crunch to the couscous. I preferred the cooked carrots version, but both were good!

Also a quick note on the "yogurt sauce" -- I taste tested this before pouring it on the couscous. I was surprised by how salty it tasted -- but don't be alarmed by this! In fact, don't change anything about it. Just pour it on your couscous and the flavors all come out well balanced. The couscous itself lacks any flavor, so the strong flavors from the sauce blend well into the couscous.

Great choice! We're planning on making this dish again, but trying it with different herbs and spices. For instance, we're thinking of making an Italian version of it with basil, tomatoes, and such. Yum. If (and when) we do that, I'll post here! Cheers!