St. Johns October 2019 Newsletter P1_STM81329 October Newsletter | Page 10

LETTER FROM THE CHEF
Chef ’ s
BAG of
TRICKS
Trick #1- Couscous
Many chefs have a “bag of tricks”,
also understood as a repertoire
of tried, true and trusted recipes
or techniques that can be pulled
“out of the bag” under unusual
conditions where there is ZERO
room for risk or error. Certainly, the
thrill of the chef’s wild ride career
facing nearly impossible conditions
and timing constraints in search
of the perfect meal is appealing.
We love the thrill of repeatedly
climbing culinary Mt Everest but
there are times you need an old
faithful to pull off a great meal: an
easy climb.
Moroccan couscous is one of my
favorites when I need an easy
climb and many folks don’t realize
how easy it can be. We recently
served citrus couscous with
charred corn, smoked almonds and
golden raisins as a side for a lunch
fish dish and after a request for the
recipe it occurred to me this might
be worth sharing considering its
simplicity. There are 2 parts to this
dish: the couscous and the garnish.
Couscous
1 part couscous mixed with 1
part orange juice left to steep
in a covered bowl at room temp
for 1 hour. So, 1 cup couscous to
1 cup OJ, mix and cover, rest 1
hour at room temp, done! Once
it has steeped for an hour simply
uncover and rub with gloved hands
to separate, no lumps. At this point
couscous can be finished or stored
airtight in fridge for up to 3 days
for later use. OJ was my liquid of
choice in this recipe but the flavor
combinations are endless using
other flavored liquids.
Garnish
For this dish I charred corn on the
grill, cut off cob and cooled to
room temp. I lightly toasted some
smoked almonds and chopped
finely. I mixed these with the room
temp couscous along with some
golden raisins, diced tomato,
chiffonade mint and basil, finely
sliced scallions finishing with extra
virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Add olive oil last and sparingly so
couscous is not too moist.
That’s it! The combination of
garnish ingredients is endless for
whatever flavor profile you are
looking for. Don’t stress worrying
about specific measurements of
garnish ingredients: just add to
taste. Couscous can be pressed
into a small mixing bowl and
then inverted onto a serving
plate as a decorative family style
table dish as well as packed into
individual cups/molds for a more
decorative presentation alongside
a compatible protein. A favorite
summer couscous for my wife and
I include diced grilled summer
vegetables, sundried tomatoes,
feta, basil and EVOO added to
couscous steeped in tomato juice.
A great fall couscous could be
the addition of roasted butternut,
toasted walnuts, dried cranberries
and crispy prosciutto and EVOO
added to couscous stepped in
Swanson chicken broth.
Happy couscousing!
Eric Fritsche
Executive Chef
10