Do you ever get tired of having rice, potatoes or pasta as your side dish? Why not try couscous? The “rice” of North Africa, couscous is used in many delicious dishes and prepared in a variety of ways. Most refer to it as Moroccan, but it is equally a staple in Lebanese, Libyan, Algerian and Tunisian cuisines, among others. While often associated with the grain family, it’s actually a coarse semolina pasta.

Couscous is so versatile you can flavor it with fruit, vegetables, seafood, meat, herbs, spices or a combination of any of these. Think of succulent turmeric stewed lamb; currents, mint and pistachios; herbs, almonds and preserved lemons. Makes me want to ride a camel to a tented oasis in the desert at sunset, have my hands washed in tepid rose petal water and eat sweet, earthy, aromatic delights with my fingers. Heavenly! (Though maybe I could leave the camel there and take a cab back? Somehow bouncing around with a full belly on a camel ruins the whole romantic Lawrence of Arabia thing).

To go with our chicken tagine last night I made couscous with red pepper, almonds, Italian parsley and preserved lemons. For about 3-4 side servings:

1 large red pepper, julienned
1/4 C toasted sliced almonds
1 small preserved lemon, sliced thin then in half
1/2 C Italian flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon zest for garnish

Sauté red pepper in a small amount of olive oil until soft. Add 1 cup chicken broth and bring to a boil. To keep the couscous moist, add 1 small pat of butter or a quick drizzle of olive oil to the stock. Add almonds, preserved lemons, couscous and stir. Turn off heat and cover for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, tossing in parsley. Garnish with fresh lemon zest.

Janet Is Hungry has a lovely fresh recipe for Couscous Salad with feta. Yum! (I hope she got her dishwasher fixed!)

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I’ve never been to Africa, much less Ethiopia, but Ethiopian cuisine is one of my favorites. The only thing that many Americans only know about Ethiopia, is that it had terrible famine in the 1980s, when more 1 million people starved. Sadly, Ethiopia has been described as “chronically food insecure” by world hunger experts. Despite it’s food shortages, Ethiopia has one of the world’s oldest and richest culinary traditions. Served family style, on a huge sour-dough pancake-like bread called Injera, diners in Ethiopian restaurants typically eat with their hands scooping up bits of 5-10 different preparations with the injera. I love the mix of spiced stews and curries, featuring both meat and wonderful vegetarian dishes. Another interesting part of the dining experience is Tej, which is a flavored honey wine, that can be either sweet or dry.

America has several Ethiopian communities that feature excellent restaurants, which also tend to be a great value. In Washington, D.C., there’s an enclave in the Adams-Morgan district and Los Angeles has it’s own “Little Ethiopia.” The Fillmore district in San Francisco has a couple of nice places, including a personal favorite, Rasselas, which is also a Jazz club.

Beyond the food, I find the people, culture and history of Northeast Africa very interesting; though admittedly my exposure has been limited. Despite the difficulties in traveling there, some day I’m going to visit Ethiopia and possibly it’s embattled neighbor Eritrea. Here’s my vlog post from the restaurant Merkato:

For more, check out this post on the Fat Free Vegan blog. Here’s a good resource for finding a restaurant near you: http://www.ethiopianrestaurant.com. And finally, “The Watch Woman” has a number of good recipes.

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