So Many Dishes

The last two recipes that I’ve shared have come from the cookbook I received for Christmas, one of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street books titled Cook What You Have. I like the concept of putting meals together that are based around ingredients you have in your fridge, freezer, or pantry. I’ve been busy exploring other offerings from the book, and we included another new recipe in this week’s menu.

Maybe I should mention that our menu week begins on Wednesday, because that is our primary grocery shopping day. It’s a carryover from the early days of Covid, when the local supermarket offered “senior hours” on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. It has turned out to be a convenient day for us, but when I mentioned the current week’s menu, I thought I’d best explain why I’m talking about a dish I cooked last Friday.

We chose to try harissa-spiced beef with couscous and scallions. We’ve kept a bottle of harissa ever since we discovered Moroccan cuisine, where it’s a common condiment. We always have pearl couscous in the house (Ken prefers it to regular couscous, and it usually doesn’t matter), as well as golden raisins, which were one of the dried fruit options. All we needed to buy were ground beef and scallions. Or so we thought.

As the saying goes, assumption is the mother of all screwups. I assumed that we had pearl couscous, and I wasn’t completely wrong: there was about a half cup in the jar when I finally looked on Friday afternoon. I’d had a busy day, and definitely didn’t feel like running out to the store. What to do.

I dug out something I actually had on hand, a bag of alphabet pasta!

I had made a chicken alphabet soup last winter, but couldn’t find alphabets in any local store. Amazon to the rescue, but it was a three-pack, and the other two bags were still in the cabinet. Problem solved.

I also compromised on another ingredient, the scallions, in a choice to be at least a little bit frugal. The dish that Ken is cooking tomorrow night includes one leek, but the store was out of leeks. They did, however, have bulb onions, which look like leeks and scallions had a baby. We put one aside for Ken, and I used the other two in this dish. I think they worked perfectly. I easily had as much onion as I would have with the bunch of scallions the recipe calls for.

The dish was easy to prep and quick to cook. We’ve kept decided that it reminds us of picadillo, the ground beef dish found in Latin cuisine. (We particularly like the Cuban version. In fact, our daughter texted me on Saturday to ask for a copy of my recipe.) We served it over the alphabets and didn’t really miss the couscous. We both added more harissa at the table, but I don’t think I’d add any more to the dish. This way, we could adjust the level of spiciness to our individual tastes. We used manzanilla olives, again because that’s what we had on hand, and they tasted just fine. I topped the dish with some chopped cilantro, an optional garnish. You know me and cilantro 😄

If you’ve never tried harissa, it is a red chile paste that supposedly originated in the Maghreb. It includes various spices and olive oil. Because of the spices, each brand differs in taste, and there can be significant differences in the level of heat. I prefer Mina brand, which offers a mild option, as well as hot. To me, it’s really flavorful, with just the right kick.

Harissa-Spiced Beef with Couscous and Scallions

• 1 1/2 cups couscous
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons harissa paste, plus more to serve
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, whites and greens reserved separately
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 pound lean ground beef (ground lamb is an alternative)
• 3/4 cup pitted dates, roughly chopped OR golden raisins
• Chopped pitted green olives, to serve

In a large nonstick skillet over medium high, heat the olive oil, then add the scallion whites and cumin, stirring, until the scallions brown, about 3 minutes. Add the beef, harissa, dates or raisins, 3/4 cup water, and a pinch each salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally while breaking up the beef, until the mixture is saucy and the meat is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer.

Prepare the couscous according to package directions. When the couscous is done, remove the meat mixture from the heat. Stir in the scallion greens. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Serve the beef mixture over the couscous, sprinkled with green olives. Optional garnishes are chopped fresh cilantro or lemon wedges. Serves 4.