Dirty Curry Couscous

Back in June, Kevin over Acme Instant Food invited a bunch of food bloggers to participate in Acme Instant Ingredients, a food blogger event similar to an online Iron Chef but without the competitiveness. Two bloggers are paired up and send each other 1 ingredient. Each blogger must come up with a recipe using that ingredient. For this challenge, Becke at Columbus Foodie sent me a box of Israeli couscous in the mail. Being the consummate procrastinator, I FINALLY got around to completing this challenge.

I'd never had Israeli couscous before. It's larger and more pearl shaped than the couscous I am familiar with. The first thing that came to mind for me when I received Becke's package was to make a curried couscous similar to one I had tasted at Dean's mother's birthday party this past July. Scouting around online, I found the Barefoot Contessa's recipe which had many rave reviews. Wanting to vary things up a bit, I thought about how I could add my own twist. That's where Joe over at Culinary in the Country comes in. I regularly read his posts (he's SUPER prolific) and in looking through his archive of recipes, one for dirty rice caught my eye. Immediately, I thought "Curried couscous. Dirty rice. Curried rice. Dirty couscous. Dirty curry couscous!" (much like Melanie Griffith's epiphany in Working Girl when she explains her idea for Trask radio..)

I'm not quite sure what makes something dirty (perhaps I'll ask Christina Aguilera if I ever meet her), but I must say I do love dirty rice. Especially the greasy kind they serve at Popeye's, even though they now refer to it as "Cajun rice." So if you too like dirty rice and curried couscous, then give this recipe a try. And thanks to Kevin, Becke, Ina, and Joe for the inspiration.

DIRTY CURRY COUSCOUS

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups couscous
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 lb ground beef
1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
2 green onions, finely sliced
additional salt and black pepper, to taste

1) In a medium size pot, bring the water and butter to a boil. Add in the couscous, cover with a tight fitting lid, reduct heat to low, and simmer for 8 minutes.

2) In a large skillet on medium heat, add the ground beef, Old Bay, and garlic powder. Cook the beef until it is well browned and cooked through. Drain off the fat.

3) In a small bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, salt, curry powder, and turmeric until well-blended.

4) Add the couscous and curried yogurt mixture to the skillet containing the ground beef. Stir until well-mixed.

5) Add the red onion, bell pepper, and parsley. Stir until well-mixed.

6) Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 6 servings.

Ed's Note: You might add additional salt and/or black pepper to taste.