Cafe Gitane couscous
I am a former New Yorker with a mad craving for Cafe Gitane's couscous. Does anyone have the recipe or could help me with the ingredients? I remember potatoes, bell peppers and eggplant (all likely oven roasted), chicken, lamb merguez sausage and hummus on top. Am I missing anything? Are there raisins or currants? Tips on what spices to add?
Thanks!
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I had the same thought, and found this post when searching for a recipe.
I cobbled something together based on a few different Moroccan Couscous recipes... it was pretty close (especially when served together with the hummus)... flavors seemed right, but there are a few adjustments I will make for next time. Besides your list above, I also included roasted zucchini and yellow squash... I think you are right, and that it was missing something sweet, but I don't think it has dried fruits in it... sliced red grapes?
I sauteed a shallot for a minute, added arromatics in and sauteed for 20-30 seconds, then put in chicken broth and brought to a boil. Then added couscous and took off heat - 5 mins. At the end I added roasted vegtables/chicken and minced italian parsley and mixed it up.
(I felt like I was a little too heavy handed with the spices my first go... next time I will mix the spices up in the measurements below and add about 1.5-2 tsps per box of couscous).
I used the following spices:
Cumin 1/2 tsp
Ginger 1/4 tsp
Cayenne Pepper 1/4 tsp
Dry Mustard 1/4 tsp
Tumeric 1/4 tsp
Saffron - a few threads added to the chicken brothI think you could also use Ras Al Hanout Moroccan spice blend instead... I may try this in future, but the allspice, nutmeg, etc. make me think of Christmas cookies:
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cardamon
2 teaspoons ground mace
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper›1 Reply
