No.3 - Artichoke "Risotto"

Risotto is put in quotations because it's a word traditionally used to describe a dish of rice cooked with broth and flavoured with other ingredients. Besides couscous, you can also try pearled barley or farro as a substitute.

Couscous itself is a North African dish of spherical granules made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating it with finely ground wheat flour. A popular variant in Israel uses granule of hard wheat. Traditional couscous requires a lot of preparation time, so a more-processed, quick-cook couscous is made widely available here--this is the kind the recipe employs.

My roommate compared this to the taste of chicken soup...
Pearl Couscous "Risotto" with Artichoke Hearts

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. onion, minced
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
1 cup couscous
1 tsp. (1/2 if dried) thyme
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups vegetable broth
4 artichoke hearts or sunchokes (aka Jerusalem artichokes), cleaned and cut into bite-size pieces. If using canned marinated hearts, drain and rinse first before cutting.
parsley, minced
salt and pepper

Procedure:
1. Put oil in a lrg. deep skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add onion and mushroom and cook, stirring until soft.
2. Add couscous and stir until glossy. Add thyme, some salt and pepper, and fresh artichoke hearts.
3. Add 1/2 cup dry white wine. Turn heat up to medium-high and let wine evaporate while stirring. Return heat to medium and add stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring occasionally. The mix should be kept moist, neither soupy nor dry.
If using marinated artichoke hearts:
4. Stir in artichoke when couscous is almost tender.

Fluff couscous and garnish with parsley leaves (optional) before serving.

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