Seared Scallops with Couscous Salad

I've been leaning pretty heavily on the Cook's Country "30 minute supper" recipe cards lately. The original version of this recipe came off of one of them. That said, I changed it pretty significantly. The original recipe called for making a very simple couscous side/salad using instant couscous, tomatoes, parsley, and olive oil. That was then served with scallops seared in olive oil and topped with a pickled pepper-orange-scallion salsa/chutney. I changed things up a little bit when I put mine together.

Couscous Salad
Adapted from Cook's Country August/September 2015 and The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert
1 lb. instant couscous
4 c. vegetable stock (or vegetable trimmings/peels + water)
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
4 Tbsp. butter
1 (375mL) jar pickled pepperoncini peppers, minced
1/4 c. pickled pepper juice, or more to taste
1/4 c. + 1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
juice and grated rind of one orange
4-5 tomatoes, chopped
8 scallions, sliced thin
1 c. fresh cilantro (or parsley), chopped
1/2 tsp. pepper

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (optional)

1. Put stock on to boil. Set a colander on top of the pot and seal the edges so that steam only rises through the colander. Line colander with cheesecloth.
2. Add 2 c. of cold water to couscous. Stir it around to break up any clumps, let stand for a minute or two, then drain.
3. Dump couscous into cheesecloth lined colander and steam for 20 minutes.
4. Lift cloth out of colander and dump into large shallow plate/pan. Rake and break up any clumps with a whisk. Stir in 1 c. of water and a tsp. each of salt and oil. Allow to stand 10 minutes.
5. Rake again and break up any clumps. Place cheesecloth back in colander and dump the couscous back in. Steam for another 20 minutes.
6. Lift cloth back out of colander and rake couscous again. Stir in another cup of water, but do not add any more salt or oil. Let stand 10 minutes.
7. Rake and put couscous and cheesecloth back in colander and steam for a final 10 minutes.
8. Remove couscous from colander, break up any lumps and stir in 1 c. of broth and 4 Tbsp. of butter.
9. Combine cooked couscous with remaining ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy warm or chilled.

Seared Scallops
400g large sea scallops
1 Tbsp. garlic butter
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Pat scallops dry with a paper towel and melt butter in pan.
2. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on scallops and sear in butter over medium-high heat. They should only need about 1 1/2 minutes per side, two minutes at the absolute maximum.
3. If desired, deglaze the pan with a little broth and pour over the scallops.
4. Serve immediately over warm couscous salad.

I realize that the multiple couscous steamings may seem a bit labour-intensive and daunting, but it really does make a huge difference to the texture and final result! I can't stand instant couscous prepared according to the box (pour hot/boiling water over and let stand for a few minutes). But properly steamed couscous? I can't get enough of it! It's delicious! Seriously. I promise that it's worth every minute of extra time it takes to do it this way. Besides, waiting for it to steam gave me time to do all the chopping and other prep work for the recipe, so it didn't really add that much to the overhead. If you've never tried steamed couscous before, definitely give it a try. You're in for a treat!