by porktopurslane
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1
medium butternut squash
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1 pound
fregola sarda (Couscous)
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2 tablespoons
cumin seeds
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2
medium cloves garlic
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3 cups
roughly chopped fresh cilantro
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1 cup
roughly chopped fresh parsley
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1 teaspoon
hot paprika
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2 teaspoons
smoked paprika
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1/2 teaspoon
cayenne
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2
lemons
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1 cup
toasted pine nuts
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extra-virgin olive oil
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sea salt to taste
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Preheat the oven to 475 F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. On a large sheet pan, toss butternut squash with about 2 tablespoons olive oil and a generous pinch of sea salt (make sure not to overcrowd the pan; use two pans if necessary). Roast squash for approximately 20-25 minutes or until tender and caramelized. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
Ask the hotline about this step!Cook fregola sarda in boiling water for 10-11 minutes, or until al dente. Drain and return to the pot; set aside and keep warm.
Ask the hotline about this step!Meanwhile, in a small skillet over medium heat, toast cumin seeds for a minute or two – or until they release a fantastic smell and start to make a popping sound (keep an eye on them, so they don’t burn). Tranfer toasted cumin seeds to a mortar; add the garlic and a big pinch of sea salt. Pound cumin and garlic into a paste. Add chopped herbs in batches, and continue to pound until a chunky paste forms. Add paprika, cayenne, the zest of 1 lemon, and 4 tablespoons olive oil; stir to combine and set aside. (Alternatively, you could process all ingredients in a food processor.)
Ask the hotline about this step!To the pot with the fregola, add the butternut squash, the juice of 2 lemons, the charmoula, and the toasted nuts. With a wooden spoon, toss gently to combine (avoid mashing the squash). Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ask the hotline about this step!This was delicious, even with some substitutions I had to make: no parsley on hand, so I used beetvgreens, sautéed briefly and added at end with sauce. No lemons either, but I used a preserved lemon chopped and put into blender with spices. It was all wonderfully aromatic and very north African in taste. We loved it, and this will definitely be on my go-to list of things to do with butternut squash!
Made this during the week and liked it a lot (more than my husband). Followed the recipe closely, although I used Israeli couscous. Spicy, which is a real change from most recipes with squash, which tend to veer to the sweet.
Big winner in our family. Easily made on a weeknight, healthy, vegan, and delicious. And " vegan" is not usually a good thing with my twelve-year-old, but she agreed this was pretty darn good ( then she ate a leftover meatball).
Just made this. While it's a lot of steps, well worth it. Substituted walnuts for the pine nuts. This is delightful.
I thought this dish was great and loved the smokey spin of the smoked paprika. Instead of fregola I used wheatberries as that is what I had on hand!
This is my first foray into the world of Food52---I joined so I could save this recipe, and I just made it, with what I had on hand and a few tweaks (like halving the cumin and adding 1 tsp of coriander, and adding a sprinkling of brown sugar to the squash before roasting). It turned out to be simply outstanding! A well-deserved win, indeed!
wisesamsmum :: Welcome to Food52! I'm glad the dish turned out well. And thank you for the sweet words!
Do you cut up/ cube the squash prior to or after roasting? Sounds delicious...will try this weekend.
Well, I figure it out (comments below!) and made it last weekend. People couldn't stop eating it....I could have made double the amount.
Mprize :: SO sorry I didn't get back to you sooner (I was out of town, eating my way through another city).
I can't believe I left out that detail! Prior to roasting, I peel the squash with a vegetable peeler, halve it, remove the seeds and then cut it into about 2 1/2-inch cubes.
I am happy to hear it was such a hit. I always make a lot and eat some for lunch the next day...the couscous gets a little tacky, but it is still delicious.
Thanks!
I've had my eye on this recipe since it first appeared, and I finally made it tonight for dinner. Talk about rock 'em, sock 'em flavor! It's terrific.
Thanks mtrelaun! I'm so happy you liked it!
Congratulations, Porktopurslane! (I noticed we chose the same movie in your Q & A selection - eat drink man woman is one of my very favorites)
Thanks Jennifer Ann!
I'm so happy you put fennel in the spotlight! It is so under-used and under-appreciated in the home kitchen.
And yes, isn't EDMW the most fabulous food-movie?!
This looks delicious. Am I missing something (entirely possible) or do we need instructions for prepping the squash?
mbfant, thanks for bringing this to my attention! You are totally right. In the ingredients list, it should read:
1 medium butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into a 1 1/2-inch dice
Can you use Israeli couscous instead? Not sure I can find fregola sarda in Tokyo.
Teri,
I believe so! I was served Israeli couscous by an Israeli friend of mine, and I couldn't tell the difference between that product and Fregola Sarda (she didn't know the difference either).
Is there anyone that knows the difference? It seems like they are both relatively large-cut, toasted couscous.
It looks as though the fregula in the picture is not true fregula, which is indeed made like couscous (though cooked like pasta), but actually a pasta, spaghettoni cut into short lengths, often packaged and sold as fregula.
True fregula is not toasted -- it's sun-dried -- nor is it cut. This is from "Encyclopedia of Pasta":
"Water is sprinkled, a little at a time, over the [durum wheat] flour, which is stirred with a rotary movement until tiny balls no bigger than a peppercorn form. The fregula is gradually sifted from the rest of the flour and left to dry in the sun on a special sieve made of horse hair and covered with a dish towel. When dry, it is cooked in broth."
I don't know Israeli couscous, but the Wikipedia description of how it's made sounds very much like true fregula.
I recently bought some Israeli couscous from our local Middle Eastern market (where, I've been told, you can also get whole goats and lambs, by the way). The product is called "Maftoul." The guys who own the store kept telling me over and over, as I bought it, that it is NOT couscous . . . and indeed, it is exactly like the "pastina" I ate almost every day ("in brodo") when living in Italy. The maftoul must be cooked for about ten minutes, in broth or water (as any pasta). I have no idea how it was made, however, i.e., whether it was left to dry in the sun.
Well, the fregula in the picture is a form of pastina rather than couscous, so maybe Israeli couscous has the same problem as fregula, i.e., the real thing is couscous but what is sold commercially is a pastina. BTW all fregula is "sarda" (from Sardinia), and in Sardiinia, it is cooked in broth, usually today with tiny clams called arselle ("wedge-shells"), though traditionally with vegetables or meat broth.
The fergola sarda will be arriving any day now...I am looking forward to a taste test between Israeli Cous Cous and the fs. Suzanne Goin's Sunday Supper at Luques has a recipe calling for fergola sarda... I subsistuted Israeli Cous Cous - it was delicious!
Thanks everyone. Now I just have to find smoked sweet and spicy paprika. Easier than it sounds...
I had been on a hunt to find fregola sarda (which I am using for an upcoming dinner in Feb.) in local stores in Baltimore...I even called some of our Italian markets in the city...and there is NO fregola sarda sold anywhere in Baltimore! But there is on Amazon.com!!! I am looking forward to trying it and I will definitely try your dish! Looks fabulous!
You can get it from A.G. Ferrari, a great SF Bay Area Italian grocer which has been around forever (1919, I think . . . .) They are my go-to resource for groceries imported from Italy. http://www.agferrari.com/index.php/item/item/3307.html I can walk to one of their shops, and do, often.
That is indeed a great store!
aargersi - yes! you can put it on anything he usually abhors, and watch him clean his plate. then smile cunningly. :)
mariaraynal - what a sweet thing to say! thank you.
ENunn and Naked Beet - thanks for commenting. I hope you'll try the dish soon! (while butternut is still around)
This sounds great! I will be adding the man-spice to my repetoire :-) My husband loves all of those flavors too
It's funny, I saw the title to this dish last week and immediately thought, "this has finalist written all over it." Congrats -- very cool, creative dish.
Wow, I love both couscous dishes and am going to have a hard time deciding the vote.
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Peeling the squash from the ingredient shot -- waste not!
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The butternut squash pushing off for its journey in the oven.
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Showing some caramelization.
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Merrill chops the cilantro and parsley while Amanda gets her only workout of the week: grinding cumin, garlic and salt in her lovable yet impractical mortar and pestle.
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Gathering the ingredients for the charmoula -- cilantro, parsley, sweet and hot smoked paprika, lemon zest and cayenne -- and putting them into the food processor.
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Draining the fregola, which you cook like pasta in plenty of boiling salted water. See how some of the fregola is dark? That's because it's toasted, which adds a pleasant nutty aroma to it.
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A mountain of ingredients -- this can serve at least 8 people. Have a smaller group? Just halve it!
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Scraping every last bit of charmoula from the food processor.
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We ate this with farmers cheese for lunch -- a cooling counterpoint to the flashes of heat in the salad. It would also make a great side with grilled lamb.
I too substituted walnuts for pine nuts, just because I couldn't find any at the store! This is a great recipe - first time with charmoula. I love how the charmoula balances out the sweetness of the butternut squash. Normally I salt the water I make the cous cous in, but didn't as after tasting the charmoula. Husband liked this recipe so will make again - maybe with farro?