Boulettes de couscous aux noix, farcies au roquefort et vinaigrette de tomates “Heirloom”

couscousboulette2web

Today we are in the mood for some couscous but not the one you scoop in a spoon, the one you can eat with your fingers. While working for some clients in the Bay Area I somehow mastered the art of making balls…and all kinds of balls, that’s why one day I figured couscous balls would be quite delicious when combined with walnuts, roquefort or gorgonzola. As for the tomato vinaigrette, it can be substitute with a light salad. It depends if you want something with leaves and crunchy with the couscous balls or smoother with a tomato puree type of vinaigrette. It’s important to get excellent quality tomatoes with lots of flavor and not watery.

Ingredients for 4

  • 1  cup wholewheat or regular couscous
  • 2 tbs walnut, chopped
  • 2 tbs parsley, finely chopped
  • 60 g roquefort, cut in small pieces 1/2 inch X 1/2 inch
  • 1 egg
  • salt an pepper

For the tomato vinaigrette

  • 4 heirloom tomatoes, grated (or 3 large ones)
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 scallion
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

First start preparing couscous. Boil salted water and pour on top of couscous – for quantities, I add enough water to cover couscous, leaving 3 mm of extra water above level of couscous. Keep covered for about 5-10 min. Fluff with a fork, add egg, walnuts, parsley and pepper. Add extra salt if needed.

Start making balls and stuffing them. Take one tablespoon (or a little more) of couscous in your hand and place a piece of roquefort in the middle. Form small balls, a little bigger than a walnut, making sure that the cheese is well stuck in the middle, otherwise when they’re cooking, the cheese will melt and come out. Form nice round balls, compressing it to make the grain stick together. Set aside.

Heat some olive oil in a pan and add couscous balls. Brown on all sides, so they get a nice golden color all around. Cook at medium heat for about 10 min, until the cheese has time to melt.

For the vinaigrette, cut tomatoes in two crosswise, remove seeds and grate using a cheese grater (use large grind), place in a mixing bowl, add salt, pepper, olive oil and scallions.

Dress in plates, spoon 2 tbs of tomato vinaigrette, and 2 or 3 couscous balls on top and serve.