2009-02-11

Couscous and crayfish

Dishes based on couscous, bulgur or quinoa mixed with veggies and some kind of meat is somewhat of a staple in our kitchen. They are so simple to make: just chop, fry, boil and mix and dinner is done. Tonight's version had crayfish tails and fennel, two things that go really well together. The apple adds a nice acidity and fruitiness. We served it with a lemon yoghurt sauce made of Turkish yoghurt, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and black pepper.

Couscous with fennel and crayfish tails in garlic butter

4 large portions

1 small fennel
1 small red pepper
1 tart apple
Olive oil

3 dl couscous
3 dl water
½ tsp turmeric
Salt

400 g crayfish tails in water (strained weight)
1 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp dry white wine
Salt to taste

Dice the fennel, red pepper and apple. Heat up the olive oil and fry the veggies for about 5 minutes, you still want them slightly crunchy. Set aside for later.
Bring salted water to a boil. Remove from heat, add couscous and turmeric, stir and let stand under a lid for about 5 minutes or until the water is absorbed.
While waiting for that, you chop the garlic clove very finely and mix with the butter. Put the crayfish tails in a hot pan, add the garlic butter and let it melt. It will smell quite heavenly. Add the white wine and let simmer for a minute or two on medium heat (don't overcook the crayfish, they will get dry and stringy). Now the couscous will be ready, so pour that into the pan with the crayfish, add the veggies and stir around so that the couscous absorbs the butter-wine sauce. You might want to add some more salt, but remember that the crayfish tails are quite salty. Serve with lemon-yoghurt sauce.

2 comments:

  1. Hello fellow New Daring Baker! I saw that you were new as well and thought I might stop by and see your blog! Glad I did..my tummy started rumbling as soon as I saw some of your dishes! Can you by any chance put up a subscription button on your blog so I can follow?

    Christine
    www.mamanandgourmand.blogspot.com

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  2. Hey Mistress! Sorry I took so long to reply, but I put up the subscription widget straight away... don't know if you found it yet.

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