Side Dish
Couscous with Dried Cranberries, Pine Nuts and Fresh Mint
| 1 package | Couscous |
| 2 cups | Chicken or vegetable stock |
| Pinch | Salt |
| 3 tablespoons | Walnut, almond or olive oil |
| 1 teaspoon | Lemon juice, fresh |
| 3/4 cup | Dried cranberries |
| 1/3 cup | Pine nuts |
| 1/3 cup | Mint leaves, fresh, chopped |
- Preheat oven to 120°C.
- Prepare couscous according to package directions, except substitute stock for the water and add pinch of salt. Cook and drain; set aside.
- Place pine nuts on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 120°C for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Place couscous into serving bowl. Stir in oil and lemon juice until blended.
- Mix in cranberries, pine nuts and mint leaves until blended.
- Serve immediately. Serves 6.
Recipe courtesy of Spinner Publications.
Cooking with Cranberries - preparation tips
Always remember to:
- Cook frozen cranberries just until they pop. Longer cooking brings out their bitterness and makes them mushy.
- Do not use aluminium cookware when cooking cranberries as the berries' acid reacts with aluminium and causes it to discolour. Use stainless steel, glass or porcelain.
- Eliminate foaming and over boiling when cooking frozen cranberries by adding one teaspoon of butter.
Preparing cranberries:
- Chop cranberries in a food processor, using quick on/off pulses, to save time.
- When cooking, add a little salt or ¼ teaspoon baking soda or baking powder to cranberry sauce to reduce the amount of sugar needed and bring out the cranberry flavour.
- Soak dried cranberries in warm water, orange juice or a liqueur for 20 to 30 minutes to get plumper berries which can be used as a substitute for frozen or fresh cranberries in many recipes.
- For baked goods (i.e. muffins, cakes or slices), chop frozen cranberries and toss them with sugar before stirring into the batter to improve sweetening.
