Monday, June 27, 2011

Tonight's Dinner: Couscous with Snowpeas


I still have some Spring lamb in my freezer, mostly the mysterious cuts that I've never cooked before. Until tonight, that included lamb ribs. Happily, yesterday's New York Times Magazine featured a recipe for which I had all the ingredients (yes, I am in possession of Aleppo pepper), so I defrosted the ribs overnight and enjoyed them this evening.
To accompany the lamb, I grilled two bunches of scallions from Quail Hill. Have you ever done this? Make sure you have very fresh scallions, preferably big ones that will hold onto their moisture on the grill. Trim them, brush them with olive oil, sprinkle them with salt, and then grill them over high heat, turning once, until they've got nice grill marks and are softened, about 5 minutes total.
I also had a small bag of snow peas and thought they'd be nice in some couscous. To take my side dish in a Mediterranean direction, I threw some ground cumin into the pot along with ginger and garlic. The peas were so tender I just steamed them for 5 minutes on top of the couscous before fluffing, sprinkling with lemon juice, and serving. Here is the recipe:

Couscous with Snowpeas
Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped (or 2 garlic scapes--that's what I used)
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
1 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 cup couscous
1 cup snowpeas, ends trimmed
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the broth and water and bring to a boil. Stir in the couscous, dump the snow peas on top, cover, remove from the heat, and let stand 5 minutes.
2. Transfer the couscous to a serving bowl, sprinkle with lemon juice, and fluff with a fork. Season with salt if necessary and serve, or let cool to room temperature before serving.

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