Chez likes a good surprise and the winner of the coveted Star for the evening meal of 9/18/11 was a huge surprise;
It was a ‘known fact’ that the star would be going to the fennel seed and pepper seasoned, panko-encrusted tilapia served with a fennel bulb-mint tzaziki… but it didn’t get it...
Or perhaps it would be going to the Anjou Pears, poached in orange and lemon juice and served with a spicy, peppery, smoky caramel sauce… but it wasn’t selected either...
Maybe it would be the sweet and tart Normandy Cocktail, made of Crème de Cassis, champagne and macerated strawberries… but no.
Instead it went to a simple side dish, added as an afterthought, and it brought the house down.
Here is the recipe and if you want to experience greatness, give it a try.
- Chez
What You'll Need -
- 1 ¼ cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup Israeli couscous
- 2 tbsp Italian parsley
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- 4 tbsp butter
- ½ cup finely chopped shallots
- 1-3” cinnamon stick
- 3 Turkish Bay Leaves
How You Prepare It -
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tsp of butter. Add pine nuts and sauté until nuts are fragrant and brown (3 minutes). Remove from heat and allow nuts to cool on a paper towel.
- In the same saucepan add the last 2 tbs of butter and melt over medium heat and add shallots and sweat 2 minutes.
- Raise heat to medium high and add couscous, bay leaves and cinnamon stick, stirring constantly. Brown couscous 5 minutes and then chicken broth.
- Raise heat to high and bring mixture to boil. When at a boil, reduce the heat to simmer and cover. Cook 7-12 minutes or until couscous is tender.
- Before service, removed cinnamon stick and bay leaves and fold in parsley and toasted pine nuts.
