Recipes: Les Moulins Mahjoub Couscous and Sauce with Shrimp - Preserved Lemon and Dill with Salmon

Before I get to the recipes, I have to thank all my wonderful and loyal customers for Saturday.  So much fun chatting and sampling JNSQ.  I SOLD OUT of the wine!!!

This first recipe was required by TFM Corp for my sampling.

Preserved Lemon and Dill with Salmon

1 jar (5 oz.) Nounos Plain Greek Yogurt (approximately 1/2 cup)

1/2 Tbl. chopped fresh dill

2 Tbl. minced Les Moulin Mahjoub Preserved Lemon, peel*

1/4 lb. cold smoked salmon

crackers

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.  Let rest at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld.

Serve on your favorite cracker with cold smoked salmon.

*Note: Rinse preserved lemon thoroughly.  Cut lemon in half, scoop out pulp and discard pulp.  You only use the lemon peel.

This was an easy recipe to prepare.  Nice with the salmon and paired perfectly with JNSQ.  Customers enjoyed.  Saturday, I served on Cracked Black Pepper Water Crackers; nice combination.

For me personally, nice, but too much yogurt flavor.  I would have preferred a 50/50 mixture of yogurt (even sour cream) and cream cheese.

*****

This is a quick and easy meal.

Les Moulins Mahjoub Couscous and Sauce with Shrimp

1 jar Moulins Mahjoub Couscous

1 jar Moulins Mahjoub Sauce

3/4 to 1 lb. raw, peeled, deveined, uncooked shrimp

capers, to taste

Cook couscous according to package directions.  When finished cooking, drain and return couscous to pot.  Stir in shrimp and sauce, on low flame, until shrimp is cooked.  Serve and garnish with capers.

Customers enjoyed the flavor and slightly spicy heat (it's the sauce as it contains Harissa).  Plus easy to prepare as there's no measuring.

At home I prepared this with boneless chicken.  I cut chicken into bite size (1/2-inch) pieces and cooked it with the couscous.  Drained and added a sauce.

So, a few Instant Pot notes on this ...

1. At home, with the chicken, I added couscous and 5 cups of water.  Pressure cooked for 6 minutes (and it was perfect).  No draining was required.  I added sauce and served.

2. At the store, where I used shrimp, I had varying degrees of results.  The best result was --- 1 jar of couscous plus 3 jars of water.  Pressure cooked 2 minutes.  Final/cooked consistency was like risotto.  Turned Instant Pot on warm, added shrimp and sauce.  It was ready to serve in 5 minutes.

3.  My first attempt, at the store, I used the same pressure cook time as at home.  Where, I will remind you, the results were perfect.  The results were way too over cooked at the store.  I did salvage the couscous however.  Spread it on a baking sheet and let it firm up.  Then cut into squares, or circles, and pan sear on the stove.  Tasty little cakes; served with the sauce.