3133. COUSCOUS SALAD with BACON and CREMINI MUSHROOMS

serves 4-6


6 cups cooked couscous (about 12 oz. of dry couscous)

1 lb. bacon
12 oz. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 large, sweet red pepper, diced
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1-2 scallions, cut into rings

Cook the couscous according the package directions.

Wipe mushrooms down with a damp cloth to get any dirt off them. Snap off the stems. Discard them if you like, or chop them up and saute them along with the caps. Slice the mushroom caps into thin-ish pieces. Set them aside.
Remove the seeds and ribs from your red pepper. Cut into strips, then cut into small dice. Set aside (separately from the mushrooms).

Slice bacon into pieces. Cut the pieces a little larger than you want them to actually be in the salad. Remember, bacon shrinks when it cooks. Put the bacon in a large, non-stick pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Give it a stir to spread it out. After a minute or two, it should start to fry and let off all sorts of glorious bacon fat. Fry until it gets nice and crispy. When it’s done, transfer the bacon to a bowl with a slotted spoon. You’ll have a fair amount of bacon fat left in your pan. Pour all but a few tablespoons out.

Toss your sliced mushrooms into the pan with the bacon fat. Set the pan over medium-high heat. Give them a stir to coat with fat. Sprinkle on a little kosher salt and some freshly cracked black pepper. Cook like this for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Scrape them out of the pan into the bowl with your cooked bacon.

Put couscous in a large bowl. Toss in the cooked bacon and mushrooms. Give a stir to mix them into the couscous.

Add the diced red pepper, minced parsley, and scallions. Stir to mix well. Give the couscous a taste. Toss in a little kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, if you like.

Serve as a side dish, or a lighter main dish.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Jessie Cross, The Hungry Mouse, July 8, 2009 

2937. MAPLE-DIJON CHICKEN with BACON COUSCOUS

serves four


1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 slices bacon, diced
4 (4- to 5-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
1 shallot, peeled and minced
1 1/4 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup pearl (Israeli) couscous
1 tablespoon parsley, freshly chopped
2 teaspoons cider vinegar

In a small bowl, whisk the mustard, maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; set aside. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from skillet and return pan to medium-high heat until fat shimmers. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken until golden brown and meat registers 160 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer to platter, brush with mustard mixture, and tent loosely with aluminum foil. (You might not use all of the mustard mixture depending on the size of the chicken breasts.

Add shallot to now-empty skillet and cook over medium heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to simmer. Stir in couscous, cover, and cook over low heat about 10 minutes. Stir cooked bacon, parsley and vinegar into couscous. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve couscous and chicken with any remaining Dijon sauce on the side.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Detroit Free Press, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226, March 3, 2013; adapted from Cook's Country Magazine, January 2013

2462. WILD MUSHROOM SAUTE with BACON, HERBS and COUSCOUS

makes four servings


1 cup brown rice couscous, cooked according package directions
4 strips bacon, cooked and chopped into small pieces
10 ounces wild mushrooms, cleaned and trimmed into bite-size pieces
4 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
a bunch of fresh herbs (rosemary and thyme)

OPTIONAL GARNISH
shaved Parmesan or Romano Cheese
crumbles of feta
a dash of smoked paprika

In a medium sauté pan heat butter and olive oil over medium high heat, lightly brown garlic in pan. Add mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Mix in some herbs and chopped bacon. Plate with couscous, fresh herbs and cheese if desired.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Marla, Family Fresh Cooking, August 17, 2011

2118. HALIBUT with SPICY HARISSA SAUCE with BACON, DATES and OLIVES

serves four


For the halibut
4 x 5½oz halibut fillets
4½oz plain flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch paprika
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

For the spicy harissa sauce
7oz bacon lardons
7oz dates, stones removed, chopped
1 tablespoon ready-made harissa paste
2¾oz Madeira wine
3½fl oz chicken stock
20 black Kalamata olives

To serve
7oz cooked bulgar wheat or couscous
4 lemon wedges
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Sprinkle the flour onto a plate and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of paprika. Dredge the halibut fillets in the mixture until completely coated.

Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the seasoned halibut fillets and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown on both sides.

Place a knob of the butter on top of each halibut fillet and continue to cook. When the butter has melted, baste the fillets in the melted butter until completely cooked through, then squeeze over the lemon juice and set the halibut fillets aside on a warm plate.

Meanwhile, for the spicy harissa sauce, dry fry the bacon in a separate frying pan for 6-8 minutes, or until crisp and golden-brown. Add the dates and harissa paste and stir well to combine, then reduce the heat and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add the Madeira wine, stock and olives and continue to cook for a further 4-5 minutes, or until the volume of liquid has reduced and the sauce has thickened.

To serve, divide the bulgar wheat or couscous equally among four serving plates. Place one fried halibut fillet on top of each. Pour over the Moroccan-style sauce and garnish with a lemon wedge. Sprinkle over the chopped fresh parsley.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Simon Rimmer, Something for the Weekend, BBC-Food

1450. COUSCOUS-STUFFED TOMATOES wrapped in BACON and slow-cooked in BECHAMEL SAUCE

serves 3-4


9 tomatoes
9 rashers of bacon
85 grams mature cheddar cheese
pinch of nutmeg, freshly grated
dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard
salt, and freshly ground pepper

For the Béchamel sauce:
1/2 onions
3 cloves
600 ml milk
50 grams butter
40 grams flour
1 bay leaves
1 teaspoon English mustard
salt, and freshly ground pepper
pinch of nutmeg, freshly grated

For the couscous stuffing:
85 grams couscous
60 grams pine kernels, toasted
2 handfuls of seedless raisins,
1/2 bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1/2 bunch of fresh mint, finely chopped
juice of 2 lemons
zest of 1 lemons, grated
8 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of ground cumin

First prepare the Béchamel sauce. Stud the onion half with the cloves. Place it in a pan with the milk and bring to a gentle simmer.

Meanwhile, in a separate, heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter gently, then slowly stir in the flour to form a paste. Cook stirring for about 1 minute over moderate heat, then slowly pour in the hot milk through a sieve, stirring constantly.

Once all the milk has been mixed in, add in the bay leaf and mustard. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper and a pinch of nutmeg and simmer for 20 minutes stirring now and then.

To make the couscous stuffing, soak the couscous according to packet instructions.

In a large bowl, mix the soaked couscous with the pine nuts, raisins, parsley, mint, lemon juice and zest, olive oil and cumin. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, mixing well.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Add in the tomatoes and blanch for one minute. Drain, cool and peel.

While the tomatoes are cooling, gently fry the bacon on both sides in a dry non-stick frying pan.

Slice a 'lid' off each tomato (reserving the lids) and carefully scoop out the seeds. Stuff each hollowed-out tomato with a little of the couscous mixture.

Top each tomato with a tomato lid and wrap each one with a rasher of bacon, securing the bacon with a cocktail stick.

Mix the Cheddar, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce and mustard into the béchamel sauce and check the seasoning.

Spoon just enough of the Béchamel sauce into a large ovenproof dish to cover the base. Fill the dish with the bacon-wrapped tomatoes and pour over the remaining Béchamel sauce.

Bake the tomatoes for 40 minutes.

Serve straight from the oven.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Ed Baines, Good Food Live, UK TV Food

1253. SHRIMP and BACON COUSCOUS

makes 4 servings


32 jumbo shrimp, frozen
5 pieces bacon
1/2 cup fresh green peas
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon butter
1 small green onion
1/3 cup couscous
3 cloves garlic
2 medium green onions
2 medium celery stalks
1 medium tomato
fresh ground black pepper to taste
ground nutmeg to taste

In a 3-quart pan, bring water, peas, onion, and butter to a boil. Cover tightly. Remove from heat and quickly stir in couscous, cover and set aside.

While the couscous is absorbing water, chop garlic, onions, celery, and tomato. (Note: Keep tomatoes in a separate prep bowl. Also, keep green onion tops separate to use as topping later.)

In a large skillet, fry bacon until extra crispy. Remove skillet from heat. Open lid to couscous and add chopped tomatoes and crumble bacon into pan. Remove 2 Tbs of bacon drippings and set aside.
Return skillet to medium heat and add the celery, garlic, chopped onion bulbs and cook until almost soft. Remove skillet from heat, and add to couscous pan.

Return skillet to medium-high heat, coat with bacon dripping and generously sprinkle the bottom of the pan with ground black pepper and nutmeg. Increase heat to high and add shrimp. Quickly brown shrimp front and back, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, and add couscous mixture to skillet and toss. Cover for 10 minutes and then serve topped with reserved green onions.


courtesy of: Zorba Paster on Your Health, Wisconsin Public Radio, 821 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

894. BABY CHICKENS with APRICOT, BACON and CASHEW STUFFING

serves 4


2 baby chickens seasoned salt
150ml couscous water to cover cous cous
30 grams butter
1 onion, diced
6 rashers bacon, diced
50 grams cashew nuts, roughly chopped
30ml finely chopped sage, or 10ml dried
2 cloves garlic, crushed
50 grams dried apricots, roughly chopped
30ml chopped parsley
10ml grated lemon rind

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Rinse and pat the baby chickens dry. Season inside and out. Place the cous cous in a bowl and just cover with water. Do not steam. Melt the butter in a pot, then add the onion and bacon and cook until soft. Add the nuts, sage, garlic, apricots and parsley. Cook for a further two minutes. Mix in the cous cous and lemon rind. Stuff the baby chickens with this mixture and tie the legs together with string. Place in a smallish ovenproof dish and pour over the olive oil and lemon juice mixture. Bake uncovered for 50 minutes until golden. Serve with grilled vegetables.


courtesy of: Cheryl Graham and Kelly Meiring, Pick ‘n Pay School of Cooking, Pick 'n Pay Office Park, 2 Allum Road, Kensington. Telephone (011) 856 7000