My new best friend, Yotam Ottolenghi, mentions giant cous cous (or Mograbieh) more than once in his cookbooks. I was keen to try it and surprised to come across it in a local supermarket.
Cooking instructions vary, I expect, from make to make but generally it seems to be cooked very much like pasta (i.e. boiled) and not like the traditional cous cous I am more familiar with.
I cooked mine in vegetable stock and left it quite “wet” when done, then mixed it with chopped roasted peppers, flaked almonds, some olive oil and lemon juice, salt & pepper and a tablespoon of pomegranate molasses. I served mine with a grilled steak and some avocado. It was a great side dish. I think with other flavours or vegetables it would make a lovely vegetarian main or a filling salad dish.
Would I buy it again? In all honesty, unless it was on special offer, probably not, I think I’d rather have pasta or cous cous and not pasta type cous cous, but I’m glad I tried it.
Maybe I’m just an old fashioned girl at heart…
Chica Andaluza 
It looks fantastic – love what you did with it. I too have only ever made the “regular” couscous and you could add all these delicious flavours to the regular one and have an equally as scrumity meal.
Have a beautiful week ahead.
🙂 Mandy xo
Yes, this was new to me…I think it was the flavours that “made” it!
I think I might try it – I like the look of the texture.
What’s a faked almond?
Oops – a typo sneaked in! Do give it a go, would be interested to know what you think…
Ah flaked! I thought you were using faux almonds or had a novel way of recooking them…
No, I was just being a bit “flakey” myself 🙂
I ‘ve never tasted it , but thank you for pioneering…!
I like the way you cooked it and the vegetables you used with it!
You can’t say I’m afraid of trying new things!
Good looking steak!
It was a ribeye!
It looks wonderful! I saw giant couscous when I was in London, but didn’t buy any….maybe next time. I love the idea of pomegranate molasses and I think that could be used with the usual couscous grains.
Do give it a go….am interested to hear what others think. Pomegranate molasses turn everything into something special!
I love the creamy texture of israeli couscous.
Yes, I do agree with you on that!
The flavors you’ve put together with this giant couscous sound pretty wonderful Tanya – now I’ve got to go see what (our mutual best friend) Ottolenghi has done with it…
I’m sure he’s done much more exciting things…maybe that was my problem, I should have followed one of his recipes and not gone “off piste” on my own!
Love your new best friend and your opinion on the cous cous Tanya 🙂
Well, I suppose you can’t love everything your besties love!
Steve bought me some a while back from the health food shop but I am not really a pasta girl and only like couscous because it soaks up liquid and flavour and becomes fluffy. We call it Israeli couscous here and there are lots of recipes for it but like you, it’s not really something that I would go out of my way to buy and it is still sitting in its prison jar on the pantry shelf waiting for me to run out of something before I try it ;). The avocado addition to it would make me want to try it though and perhaps with lots of slivered caramelised onion, garlic and some wilted silverbeet/spinach it might get a bit more character. I think it just looks “bland” but I am sure that as you say, “It’s all in the flavours” 🙂
I think we’re of the same mind on this one! Can’t say I disliked it, but it was like eating something that couldn’t make its mind up over what is wanted to be!
Exactly! I bet Yotam could make it scrumptious but I doubt that I could 😉
Bet you could with all your lovely garden produce!
You need imagination to deal with small round tasteless balls like that and I am afraid I am a bit lacking in the imagination stakes when the product doesn’t have a lot of nutrition tied up with it. I would rather use grains like barley and rice etc rather than man made starchy balls 😉
Love Israeli couscous: just use it as another ‘grain’ when the mood strikes and it seems to match the protein 🙂 ! You probably had Yotam Ottolenghi’s wonderful series of TV cookery shows of Mediterranean cooking ages ago: we just began on our famous ‘food porn’ night last week with Ottolenghi in Morocco [plenty of couscous]: methinks he became everybody’s ‘new best friend’ then and there 😀 ! Turkey this week: can’t wait!!
We only had it a couple of months ago, and although I already had one of his books it made me go out and buy Jerusalem. He’s still on my best friend list….I love hi style of cooking. And I think you’re right, I’ll just use it as another grain 🙂
Well you gave it a go. The pictures looks tasty.
I did, and it wasn’t horrible or anything, it just didn’t make me go “wow”!
It looks good, Tanya, and the ingredients you used sound tasty. For me, add a little parmigiano, some farfalle and ditch the couscous and the dish would be spectacular. 😉
You did cure my curiosity, though. I don’t think I’ll be buy some anytime soon. Thank you for that.
Love it…I like the sound of your “cous cous”! Sometimes you have to try something because it’s been hyped so much, and I can’t say I didn’t like it. But as my grandmother used to say, it’s a bit liked talking to yourself!
Is this the same as Israeli Couscous? It looks the same – just small balls of semolina pasta? I love the stuff – such a nice little shape….
From comments I’m getting here I think it is…perhaps I need to give it a second chance!
My family loves this sort of cous cous because it’s more substantial I think, than the regular fluffy cous cous (although I do love both!). I think the ingredients you’ve chosen are marvelous.. it would be worth me picking up another packet just to try the pomegranate molasses! Thanks for the inspiration, Tanya!
I think you’re right – and I need to stop thinking of them as regular cous cous and consider them in a new light!
I saw this in the supermarket this week and wondered…now I don’t need to! Cheers!
Aha – I think that if you think if it more as tiny pasta and less as cous cous, it makes sense!
Hi Tanya, I do think that you have to give the couscous another chance. Known here in the states as Israeli couscous, I always keep it in my pantry and use it often. I love the wonderful texture and its ability to absorb the flavors of the broth it is cooked in.
After reading all the comments in favour of it, I am determined to give it another go…this time I’ll take Mr Ottolenghi’s advice!
I haven’t had cous cous in such a long time, and truthfully I have no idea why. But I tend to like pasta better as well. But it does look delish in the photo.
It was good to try something new and I think I’ve got my head around its “difference” now!
So Yottam is your new best friend? Seeing as I’m prepared to share my sea I think you should share “our” new best friend 🙂
Where did you get the pomegranate molasses from?
Ok, that sounds fair to me! The pomegranate molasses came from Waitrose (via my dad on his Vespa in London, then on to me down here…not by Vespa I hasten to add)!
Yes, I agree – I like my couscous small. Otherwise it sort of becomes tapioca or something (but that could be operator error on my part…). Still, this sure sounds yummy! Mmmm…
We have an interesting mix of views on this cous cous out here….am really enjoying hearing everyone’s thoughts!
Sounds wildly tasty! 🙂 I like pretty much any variety of couscous I’ve managed to taste, sweet or savory, large or tiny, hot or cold, and this mix of ingredients looks and sounds stellar.
Thanks so much…I have tried it again since first posting and am growing to love it more!