Going Back to My Roots

Insalata Esotica di Couscous, Barbabietola Rossa & Finocchio

Exotic Beetroot, Fennel & Couscous Salad

The roots in question were of course beetroots to be precise! It was another of those looong work days and yet again, I got home late, exhausted and hungry, loathe to eat fast food, too tired to get tidied-up and go out and impatient and short-tempered to boot! Aaargh! What to do? What to do? Well... whatever I was to do, it needed to be quick and it needed to be filling, satisfying... and fun! After a rough day, I needed something to put a smile back on my face!

What I decided to do was to pop open a vacuum-pack of beetroot- the pre-cooked but plain and unflavored kind, common in and German supermarket, and to improvise something colorful and spicy using couscous- my favorite thing in the world when it comes to quick and easy... it just can't be beat- or should I say beet in this case? :-)

The great thing was that the only thing that needed "cooking" was the couscous... which basically means that I needed to boil some water- lol! That was the full extent of it of course, as the couscous takes care of itself! So to make it, I took 2 cups of couscous, added 1 tablespoon of Ras el Hanout Rouge powder, I tablespoon of finely chopped ginger and poured enough boiling water over it that it was well covered. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, stirred it thoroughly and let it sit for 4-5, which gave me time to do some chopping!

What I chopped was a good handful of herbs- parsley, mint and basil to be precise, as well as a Spring onion, which would go to flavor the couscous and add richness to the whole affair. I added the onion whilst the couscous was still warm, so the the temperature would reduce some of the rawness, but still leave some bite to it, but set the herbs aside for later...

Next, I grated 2 beets and 1 carrot, and finely sliced a good handful of fennel. The finishing touch was a dried apricot, cut into thin slivers, to add a little fruitiness! And all I needed to do now was to gently mix these ingredients all together, with the juice of half a lime, a drizzle of honey, a drizzle of sesame oil and a splash of green Tabasco to add a gentle bit of "oomph!"- and the result my friends was pretty amazing! This is seriously good Summer food! Great as a side dish or a light meal in itself... once again- just try it! You'll like it!