Photo: Party Poussins with Festive Couscous Recipe
Ingredients
For the poussins:
- 6 poussins
- 4 tablespoons chili oil or regular olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- Pinch sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 lemon
- 1 small garlic bulb
For the couscous:
- 1 pound 2 ounces (500 grams) couscous
- 2 3/4 ounces (75 grams) golden sultanas
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 pint 9 fluid ounces (800 ml) freshly boiled water
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pomegranate
- Small handful fresh cilantro leaves (coriander), chopped
Directions
For the poussins, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Place the poussins in a roasting tin. Pour the oil slowly over the top of the top of the poussins. Rub the oil into the poussins so that they are well coated.
Place the salt, sugar, cinnamon and paprika in a small clean bowl and mix well. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the poussins. Slice the lemon into quarters and then slice each quarter into 4 so you have 16 small pieces. Place the pieces around and in between the poussins.
Separate the garlic bulb into cloves and place the pieces around and in between the poussins. Transfer the poussins to the oven and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until completely cooked through. Remove the poussins from the oven and then let them rest for 10 minutes in their tin.
For the festive couscous:
Place the couscous, sultanas, spices and salt into a microwave-proof bowl and mix well. Add the freshly boiled water to the bowl and then cover the bowl with cling film. Leave the mixture to sit for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed by the couscous. Remove the cling film from the bowl and stir the couscous with a fork to separate the grains. Carefully pour some of the juices that have collected in the roasting tin of poussins into the bowl. Stir the mixture again and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer the couscous to a serving dish.
Slice the pomegranate in half and extract a good quarter of the seeds. Place them onto the couscous. Sprinkle the chopped cilantro (coriander) over the top.
To serve, place the poussins onto clean plates and place the couscous alongside. Use the oven-charred lemon pieces and garlic cloves from the roasting tin to garnish.
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By spenmore25_8162752
Bloomington, MN
on October 27, 2011
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Talk about bang for your buck! This recipe has such a huge pay-off for the minimal effort it requires. I auditioned this tonight, thinking I will make it over Christmas when my daughters and their husbands are home. I definitely will! My husband loved it and so did I and it was absolutely beautiful to look at. As easy as it was, I think you could make it even easier by mixing the couscous with the spices and raisins earlier in the day.You could also cut the lemon and separate the garlic cloves---I also peeled them---in advance. A note on the salt: I think Nigella uses kosher salt, probably Diamond Crystal or equivalent. Diamond Crystal salt is half as salty as regular table salt.
By susanfeasts
on April 10, 2011
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This dish presents beautifully and is so easy to make. I cut the salt by half in the couscous and felt that it was still too salty. I also added oranges and white wine to the pan and later strained the remaining juices and made a gravy by adding flour and butter, bringing to a boil and reducing a bit. I served this at a dinner party last night, and everyone loved it.
By aschauwitzer_92...
Waukesha, WI
on December 26, 2007
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I made these for Christmas dinner for friends. I did not make the couscous and instead paired this with garlic and chive mashed potatoes and asparagus. I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding orange wedges and a 1/2 C of white wine. This took slightly longer than indicated as the poussins I used were 24 oz each. This ended up taking 1 hour and 25 minutes. It turned out great and I got a lot of compliments. I will definitely be making this again!
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