COUSCOUS ALSATIAN STYLE WITH SAUSAGE, APPLES AND CRANBERRIES

COUSCOUS ALSATIAN STYLE WITH SAUSAGE, APPLES AND CRANBERRIES image

Categories Sauté

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 16

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups Israeli couscous
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cup roughly chopped pecans
Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large or 1 1/2 medium onions, diced
3 tablespoons butter
2 large apples, peeled, cored and diced
About 1/4 cup Marsala wine, or other fortified wine like sherry or port
About 1/2 cup dried cranberries
4 chicken-apple sausages, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
About 2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
About 1/2 cup fresh Italian (flat leaf) parsley, chopped

Steps:

Put about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a 3 quart pot over medium heat. Add couscous and toss to coat. Stir couscous occasionally for a few minutes until it begins to brown. Add cinnamon and ginger and saute another minute. Add chicken stock to pot, about 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and boil about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the couscous is soft. Drain couscous and set aside in a large mixing bowl. While the couscous is cooking, in a large pan brown the pecans over medium heat until they just begin to brown and are fragrant. Stir frequently; nuts burn easily. Just before removing them from the pan add a little olive oil and the cayenne pepper and stir to coat the nuts. Remove from pan to a small bowl. In the same pan, add about 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and equal amount of butter. Add the onions, season with a bit of salt and pepper, and saute over medium-low heat until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add apples to pan, add a bit more salt and pepper over the apples, then stir them into the onions and continue to cook the mixture a few more minutes until the apples are soft. Add the wine, stir, and cook another minute until the wine is mostly absorbed. Add the mixture to the couscous. In the same pan, over medium heat, add the remaining tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the sausage and saute a few minutes until browned. Add to the couscous mixture. Preheat oven to 350. Add the pecans, the cranberries, the thyme and parsley to the couscous mixture and combine. Check seasoning. Butter a casserole dish large enough to hold mixture, put the mixture in the dish and bake, uncovered, about 30 minutes, just so it's heated through.