Thirty or so years ago, I ate a bowl of this every morning with some sort of soft-yolked egg. Our adventures with Israeli cous cous got me thinking about how to have that taste treat without spending a fortune on the real thing. I don’t recall the price I paid at Trader Joe’s, but it was probably less than the $10./pound prices I am finding on the internet these day.
So I got some Acini de Pepe to make a run at duplicating the experience of the original Israeli Cous Cous that I had blogged about previously.
https://dorrieanne.wordpress.com/2013/07/27/israeli-cous-cous/
I thought it turned out great. We had this for a light supper one night when dinner got really late. I boiled about 3/4 of a cup of Acini de Pepe in two cups of water. Perfect! I had made ghee earlier, so had the foam that I had scraped off that, so I added it to the pasta to slick it up some.
Other ad hoc ingredients were: Montreal Steak Seasoning, tarragon, sun-dried tomatoes (cut up very small because I didn’t rehydrate them – wanted an intense tomato flavor), sautéed mushrooms, Mexican scallions, bits of ham, and some leftover spinach. We each added some freshly-ground lemon pepper, which added just the zing it needed.
DH is a fan of spicier food than I am, so he added roasted Hatch chilis and Medium Salsa to his. Most of his was gone before I could get the camera swung around to his side of the table!
Adventures of Dorrie Anne 
Looks absolutely delicious!! I especially how you integrated the spices.
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I have a new container of tarragon, so I am trying it in a lot of things. So far, so good . . .
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I can’t understand the price for Israeli couscous in Trader’s Joe. I get the original (Osem) on line from Amazon for only $14 per 5 lbs bag!
Nevertheless, this looks yummy! 🙂
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Guess I missed that one. I looked on Amazon. Will take another stroll down their Israeli aisle! ;->
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It’s been some time since I ordered it, so I decided to check it out, just in case things have changed dramatically for some reason.
Turns out I’ve found an even better price – 12 1/2Lb boxes for $20.70. Not sure about delivery though, as I have a Prime account so in this case delivery is included.
I’ll order it soon. 🙂
http://www.amazon.com/Osem-Israeli-Couscous-8-8-Ounce-Boxes/dp/B000S690A2/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1378862744&sr=8-3-fkmr1&keywords=Osem+Israeli+%28Pearl%29+Couscous%2C+Original%2C+5-Pound+Bag
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Opps, didn’t realize that the modest link will end up as a large photo… You can of course delete it. Sorry…
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Your link is fine, and welcomed! Looks like 6.6#, yes? Twelve boxes at 8.8 ounces each . . . makes it $3.13 a pound. Still pretty steep for pasta. I understand there is quite a lot of processing to get it to be so attractive, but the Acini de Pepe works out to $1.13 a pound – on sale at $.85 for twelve ounces.
It might be good browned up a bit before putting it into the water – sort of like quinoa or bulgur.
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Wow, that is really a big difference. I guess I’ll give the Acini de Pepe a try… 🙂
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I’m gonna do Judie-A-Roni with it next. I have some leftover wild rice mixture, so will add it to the last of the acini de pepe, maybe adding in some toasted pine nuts. And celery.
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We love acini de pepe. Since I always have a box in the cupboard I don’t know why I don’t make it more often. And on another note, tarragon is my absolute favorite spice.
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I was down to my last tablespoon of tarragon, and found a shortage in the grocery store. Finally found some, but a tiny fraction of an ounce (.2, I think it was) had a price tag of five dollars and something. Gulp! No thank you.
So I queried one of the sites where I buy a lot of items, and they had 1.3 ounces for $5.30! Sold!!! It smells heavenly when it is new and fresh like this! C’mon over; I’ll share some with you. ;->
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