Couscous

When we were in London, we ate breakfast at Ottolenghi in Notting Hill.  Not only was the food delicious, the cookbook was a must have.  I finally made something.  Granted, some of the recipes have ingredients we might not have in the states or are just called something else, the combinations of ingredients are interesting and can easily be played around with. 

Ingredients:
16 large ripe plum tomatoes cut in halves lengthwise
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
9 tbsp. olive oil
2 vidalia onions thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
pinch of saffron strands
1 1/2 cups couscous
sea salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 300.  On a baking sheet, I used parchment on top of the baking sheet ( easier cleaning later ), then lay the tomatoes ( spread out ) skin side down.  Drizzle with the brown sugar, then 2 tbsp. olive oil, the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.  Honestly, I used more than was called for and it turned out fine.  I got a little heavy handed.

Bake in the oven until the tomatoes start to caramelize.  About 2 hours.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, add 4 Tbsp. of olive oil and heat.  Saute the onions over medium heat until dark and golden.  Toss in some salt too for flavor.

In a separate pot, bring the chicken stock to boil with the saffron and a little bit of salt.  Place the couscous in a bowl, add 3 tbsp of olive oil, mix and then pour in the stock mixture.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit about 10 minutes.  Again, I forgot about the olive oil and added it in after the couscous was done.

The tomatoes got very liquidy because I was so heavy handed.  About 1 and a half hours in, I poured the tomato juices into the sinnk, not all of it, so the tomatoes could dry up a bit and stuck it back in the oven for about another half an hour.

Once the couscous is done, use a fork to get rid of the lumps.   Mix in the onions. Set the tomatoes on top, to the side and pour the mixture over it.   Really flavorful and a nice side summer dish.