April Week 1: Moroccan Inspired Couscous

The first week cooking out of the Thug Kitchen cookbook brought me to a side dish rather than a main course. I chose this couscous for a few reasons. Firstly, I had never made a couscous that didn’t come with its own seasoning packet. Secondly, I need more options to go with fish filets in my new diet.

The recipe appears to be a fairly standard couscous other than the orange segments it calls for. That threw me off when I was making my grocery list for the week. I never pick up oranges! I wasn’t sure how I would feel about fruit in my side dish, but it worked alright with the warm spices called for in the recipe such as paprika and cinnamon.

The recipe itself doesn’t take much work, which is good if the protein for the night needs a lot of attention. Like all couscous, you just add the water and let it go. The seasonings go in with your grain prior to adding the boiling water. All you do is cover it, and it will be ready when you are.

This is the beauty of using couscous as a side dish to me. However, it’s a flexible grain. The flavors used in the Moroccan Inspired Couscous are not the only flavors to try. This is the lesson of this dish for me. I have a technique I can use going forward to do my own thing with it. Which leads us to the fun part of Cookbook of the Month: the ratings.

• Chef’s Rating: Usable, not mindblowing
• Husband’s rating: Needs Butter*

*Translation: I don’t want it again.