Moroccan Beef & Couscous

May kind of kicks off a crazy time for The Husband & I. From now until the end of August, there is not one weekend where we don't have plans for the whole weekend. In the summer we also grill out a whole lot. So about this time I always try to clean out our pantry - I especially try to use up the items we don't tend to eat much of during the summer (i.e. grains). We currently have quite a bit of couscous and I wanted a recipe where I wouldn't have to run out to the grocery store.

I searched around a little and found this Rachael Ray recipe. It's been a long time since I've made one of her recipes, but I really thought this one sounded like a nice change of pace for us and it required that couscous I was trying to get rid of.

Both of us really liked this dish.  The meat was very flavorful and was great paired with the peppered couscous. Hubby suggested that the next time I make this, I make a sauce to drizzle over the meat.  I have to agree with this.

The "meatballs" or patties if you will, are in no way dry, but with the couscous, for us personally, it did need a little something extra. Something perhaps in the style of a tzatziki sauce, but minus the cucumbers. I would incorporate alot of the typical spices used in Morccan cuisine that are found in the meat itself.

Moroccan Beef & Couscous

Salt
1½ cups couscous
Freshly ground pepper
1 pound lean ground beef (I used venison)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
½ medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground allspice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
 
In a small saucepan, bring 1½ cups salted water to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover and remove from the heat. After 5 minutes, fluff the couscous with a fork; season with pepper. Cover to keep warm.

In a bowl, combine the beef, garlic, onion, paprika, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoons parsley and 1 teaspoon salt. Form into 8 patties.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef patties and cook for about 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Fluff the couscous again with a fork, transfer to a platter and top with the beef patties and the remaining 2 tablespoons parsley.