Moroccan Mushroom Couscous

From: Chef #1051793

On Jan 21, 2009

Meh. Although the overall concept and flavors were good, I thought there were a couple of flaws that made it less than it could have been. I didn't enjoy it as much as some other Moroccan couscous recipes. We did not use saffron, and I'm glad, because there were so many spices and the orange flavor was so strong, that even saffron would have been drowned out a bit, and that is one expensive spice to drown out. Other than that, we did everything according to the instructions. I feel that this recipe has a couple of things that are not clear- for example, do we chop the garlic or put the clove in like so? What kind of pepper should we use- black pepper or red? I also think it would have been good to saute the onions and garlic before adding mushrooms. I usually do that and was wondering why not here- next time I will. I also thought twice about adding the sauce to the dish for serving because it seemed like it would make the couscous too gooey. But I followed the recipe, and unfortunately, to my taste it was too wet. Finally, I think that orange zest added in without the orange juice would have been better. The orange juice was just so strong.

From: Chef #615519

On Mar 14, 2008

Very fun and different - I have never had the earthy flavor of mushrooms with sweet before.

From: tigerduck

On Jun 23, 2006

I loved the spices and the orange in this dish. Saffron makes it taste luxurious. I loved the additon of crushed coriander seeds instead of ground coriander. I decided to simmer the mushrooms in the orange juice before adding it to the couscous. I had this as a warm main dish in the evening and cold as a salad the next day. It is lovely cold too. I also liked that the onion was sliced and not chopped. I enjoyed this couscous, the flavours are complex and well balanced and the leftovers are lovely eaten cold. That makes it a 5 star recipe in my view.

From: katie in the UP

On Jun 22, 2006

I didn't read the directions completely before starting...but it really turned out well!! I sauted the mushrooms, onions and spices together..gave the mushrooms quite a chance to absorb the flavors! I didn't have any saffron and I used lemon zest. Very tastey!! Served it with Moroccan grilled chicken but you are right I personally think the dish could stand on it's own! (DH has to have MEAT) lol Thank you Rita.