I was intrigued when I first saw pearl couscous and surprised by the lovely pearl shapes it formed. I was sent a packet of Blu’s pearl couscous soon after, and spent a bit of time looking for recipes that I thought would show off it’s shape.
First of all, I wanted to make a pretty dessert. Although finding good desserts or sweet dishes with couscous was a bit difficult, but after a bit of research I came up with a recipe that would hopefully work.
The second recipe I chose was a quick mushroom, bacon and spinach pearl couscous and sounded perfect for a lazy Friday night. (It’s funny how my second recipe was really our first dish… but as you probably already know – I always think about dessert first).
Although I loved the look of my dessert using the pearl couscous, it didn’t really work… the flavours and textures just didn’t work terribly well (so I won’t be supplying the recipe). I really did enjoy the savoury meal, the textures were quite interesting and the couscous itself was very filling. I would recommend using this pearl couscous for savoury foods, I would like to try and make a nice slow cooked lamb with a tomato and red wine flavoursome thick sauce on top of the couscous. It would look great and match perfectly.
Bacon, Mushroom and Baby Spinach Pearl Couscous
Serves: 2-3
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped finely
4 slices of bacon, chopped
12 mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup Pearl Couscous
1 cup hot chicken or vegetable stock
a few handfuls of baby spinach leaves (I didn’t have as much on hand as I wanted)
4 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to serve
Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium/high heat. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes until caramelising and becoming translucent.
Add the bacon and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the bacon has started to brown. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Add the couscous, stir well and then add the hot stock. Bring to the simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the couscous is cooked.
Add the spinach leaves and cook until wilted. Stir in cheese and serve sprinkled with some extra cheese.
