Readers’ recipe swap: couscous

Couscous was the cheap and filling staple in my student homes of old – I used to cook with it a lot. So, your recipes have given me the opportunity to break away from my usual roasted veg and herb concoction and get creative with this north-African semolina.

Angela Kim’s pumpkin and couscous patties were perfect for lunchboxes, as was Annalisa Mather’s punchy salad – sneaking some avocado into the dressing added creaminess.

Fadime’s kofta made a lovely dinner dish, and would be equally good for festive entertaining. On that note, Marmaduke Scarlet introduced me to the concept of couscous stuffing – a winner! The biggest surprise of the week, though, from Amii Jennifer Nettleingham, was the sweet couscous: a new take on porridge.

Ultimately, Julia Austin’s recipe pipped the rest to the post; the flavoursome, buttery, crunchy grains and runny yolks in her Spanish-style eggs with couscous were pure comfort food that I really didn’t want to share.

Spanish-style eggs with couscous

Cheap, cheerful and comforting, this is one of our favourite midweek dishes. Not only is it pretty straightforward to make, you’re also likely to have most of the ingredients to hand. The crispy base, oozing yolks and mellow flavours win me over every time.
Julia Austin, London

Serves 2
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
150g couscous
220ml good chicken stock
¼ tsp harissa
1 tbsp tomato puree
350g ripe tomatoes, cut into small dice
½ tsp sugar
A pinch of salt and black pepper
40g unsalted butter
2 free-range eggs
Cayenne pepper
A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

1 Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a 18-20cm diameter frying pan and fry the onion over a medium-low heat until golden brown – about 15 minutes. Stir frequently to ensure even cooking.

2 Meanwhile, put the couscous in a shallow dish. Bring the stock to boil in a small saucepan and add the harissa. When the stock has boiled, pour it over the couscous and stir once. Cover and leave for 10 minutes.

3 When the onions are golden brown, add the tomato puree and cook for a minute. Now add the tomatoes, salt, sugar and a pinch of pepper and turn up the heat. Cook for 5 minutes or so until the tomatoes have broken down and started to amalgamate.

4 Remove the cover from the couscous and fluff with a fork. Pour the sauce over the couscous and stir in. Check for seasoning. Clean your frying pan.

5 Melt the butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil in the cleaned pan. Add the couscous, pressing down and smoothing the surface with a wooden spoon. Make sure that the outside edges are neatly packed down. Cover with tin foil and/or a lid and cook over a medium-low heat for 10 minutes or so, until the edges of the cake are just beginning to crisp, colour and come away from the pan.

6 With the heat still on, use a spoon to carefully create two roundish recesses or nests in the surface. Break one egg into a cup then pour gently into one of the nests; repeat with the other egg. Sprinkle the eggs lightly with cayenne pepper and a few turns of the pepper mill. Scatter the parsley over the entire surface of the cake and cover once again. Continue to cook over a medium-low heat for 7 minutes or so: the aim is to get cooked whites but a still-runny yolk, and bear in mind that the egg will continue to cook as you’re serving up.

7 Using a palette knife, carefully check the edges of the cake to see that they have crisped. If they’re not quite there yet, turn the heat to high for a minute. Serve immediately, straight from the pan.

Couscous, beluga lentils, and pumpkin patties with sage-pumpkin seed pesto

These savoury patties are great served warm as appetisers, or at room temperature as packed lunch. The patties were inspired by Heidi Swanson’s Quinoa Patties from 101cookbooks.com, and the sage pesto was inspired by The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers.
Angela Kim, via GuardianWitness

Makes about 12-14 small patties
70g beluga lentils, or 150g ready cooked
150g couscous
250g cooked pumpkin, pureed (or tinned)
50g shallots, finely minced
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp salt, or to taste
A few grinds of pepper, to taste
¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp maple syrup
30g manchego cheese or pecorino, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp olive oil

For the sage-pumpkin seed pesto
40ml olive oil
3 small garlic cloves, finely sliced
15g fresh sage leaves, cut into very fine chiffonade
A splash pumpkin seed oil (optional)
30g pumpkin seeds, ground to powder
A good squeeze lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
Pepper, to taste

1 First, cook the lentils if using dry. Cover the lentils with 200ml water and a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 25-30 minutes until just tender. Drain well; set aside.

2 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. In a large mixing bowl, put 90g of couscous and pour over 90ml boiling water. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap immediately and set aside for about 5 minutes.

3 Fluff the couscous with a fork, and add the rest of the ingredients – including the remaining 60g couscous – except the eggs and oil. Mix thoroughly with a fork. Add the beaten eggs and olive oil and mix well.

4 Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Take out a small handful of the mix. Roll it into a ball, then flatten it gently and lay on the baking sheet. Repeat.

5 Bake for about 20 minutes until the bottom of the patties are golden brown. Flip and bake for another 5 minutes.

6 While the patties are cooking, make the pesto. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and let it sizzle for 30 seconds. Add the sage leaves, fry until the aroma starts to fill your nose. Transfer to a pestle and mortar. Pound gently until a rough paste is formed. Add the ground pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well.

7 Serve the patties with a small dollop of pesto on top.

Vibrant couscous stuffing

This is a fantastic stuffing for breast of lamb or chicken. Very good with tomatoes too.
Marmaduke Scarlet, via GuardianWitness

Makes enough to stuff a large chicken
220g couscous
350ml hot vegetable stock
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp ras el hanout
50g dried apricots, finely chopped (sour cherries or other dried fruit would work well, too)
1 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, roughly chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Prepare the stuffing by putting the couscous in a medium size bowl and adding the vegetable stock, lemon juice and ras el hanout spice mix. Stir well. Cover with a clean tea towel and set aside, to allow the couscous to absorb the stock. This will take about 15 to 20 minutes.

2 Add the chopped apricots, lemon zest and herbs. Stir well to combine. Check the seasoning then use to stuff a roast chicken or lamb breast.

Moroccan sweet couscous

In Morocco, couscous can be eaten either sweet or savoury. Savoury couscous is made with a coarse grain, whereas the grain for sweet couscous is finer.
Amii Jennifer Nettleingham via GuardianWitness

Serves 4
200g couscous
175g mixed dried fruit and nuts
Juice of 1 orange
2 tsp orange zest
2-3 tbsp honey
350ml boiling water
Ground cinnamon, to taste

1 Put the couscous, fruit and nuts in a bowl. Mix the orange juice, zest and honey with the boiling water, then pour over, stir and cover. Leave to swell for around 10 minutes. This dish can be eaten hot or cold and is delicious when decorated with a dash of cinammon on top, accompanied by sweet mint tea.

Israeli couscous with figs, olives and tomatoes

The sweetness of the figs and tomatoes balance the sharp shallots and salty olives, making this flavoursome and super-healthy to boot.
Annalisa Mather, via GuardianWitness

Serves 4
200g Israeli/giant couscous
1 vegetable stock cube
500ml water
1 bay leaf
100g dried figs, chopped into small chunks
100g baby tomatoes, quartered
50g pitted black olives, halved
3 tbsp walnuts, chopped and toasted
Large handful fresh coriander, washed and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing
2 small shallots
4 tbsp cider vinegar
½ avocado, mashed
½ tsp honey

1 Place the couscous in a medium-size saucepan and toast for a few minutes over a medium-high heat. Keep the couscous moving around in the pan with a spoon. Crumble the stock cube into the pan and continue to stir for another minute. Add the water and the bay leaf, bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently, for about 10 minutes until the couscous is slightly chewy and the water is absorbed. Allow to cool.

2 Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a small blender and whizz until very smooth and creamy.

3 Toss the Israeli couscous into a bowl and gently mix in all the other ingredients. Pour over the dressing and carefully mix everything together. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Couscous koftas with chorizo

The mixture of couscous and chorizo creates a texture a bit like a burger. The warm kofta wrapped with gem lettuce topped with fresh mint, chilli and bit of squeezed lime brings everything together nicely.
Fadime Tiskaya, via GuardianWitness

Makes about 20 kofta
120g couscous
200ml boiled water
100g cooking chorizo, skin removed and chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped, plus extra to serve
5 spring onions, finely sliced, plus extra to serve
A large handful of finely chopped parsley
2 tbsp linseeds (optional)
2 tbsp pine nuts
A handful of finely chopped mint leaves
1 egg
2 tbsp flour
Salt and ground black pepper To serve
Sunflower oil, to fry
1 little gem lettuce, leaves separated
A handful of chilli and mint, chooped
1 lime, cut into wedges

1 Put the couscous in a large mixing bowl and pour over the water, then cover it with clingfilm or a lid/plate until the couscous soaks the water completely and has cooled a bit.

2 When the couscous is ready, mix in the rest of the ingredients with your hands until all the ingredients are holding together. You can add more flour if you need to.

3 Take a small handful of the couscous mixture. Place it in your palm and roll to shape it into a slightly flat oval shape of about 2 cm thickness so they can fit inside a gem lettuce leaf nicely. Repeat until all the mixture is used up.

4 Heat some oil in a shallow pan. Make sure the oil is very hot, so the koftas don’t soak it up and get soggy. Carefully fry small batches (6-10) of the koftas on one side for about 2 minutes, then turn them over and fry the other side until they are golden brown and crispy. Take them out and place on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. Repeat with the remaining koftas.

5 Place the koftas on gem lettuce leaves, sprinkle over some chopped chilli and mint, plus a squeeze of lime.