Wine Food Pairing - Couscous and Pineapple

Wine food pairing in the hot, hot summer ... in Florida it seems like we have even gone past the dog days of summer and have moved to the " will this humidity never end" days ... lol!

OK, so I put my thinking cap on and came up with a variation of a couscous dish that I had up in Melborne Florida a couple of months ago. It was cool and refreshing ... sounded perfect!

Now, I digress here a bit, but I had just harvested my one and only pineapple ... yes ... my very own pineapple ... I thought that it deserved something special, also ...



I broke out my Israeli couscous. Israeli couscous is made of little spheres of toasted pasta and looks like a necklace that has become unstrung. This pasta is also called Middle Eastern or pearl couscous and is a cousin to the coarser Mediterranean fregola.

I toasted this in a saute pan first to bring out that nice nutty flavor, added curry powder then simmered it in chicken stock. Like all pastas, simmer the little beads until they soften. You'll notice that this grain absorbs the liquid, so there's little to drain off. On the side I prepped a cup of mayo, blended in more curry powder and some of the juice from the fresh pineapple ... a few bits of left over rotisserie chicken to make this a meaty dish for the gang.

OK, combine all the ingredients, fold in chunks of pineapple ... spoon this on to a few romaine lettuce leaves on a large platter and garnish with toasted sliced almonds and frozen baby peas (they give a nice crunch and a burst of sweetness as they thaw). Oh MY! Refreshing, tasty ... just what the doctor ordered on a summer's day.

A cold white wine spritzer on ice and life is not only good, it is great!

Wine food pairing .. it is all about the wine and food. CHEERS!

3 comments:

Laura in Paris said...

I have learned about coucous in your post - I only know the North African one.

Brian said...

Thanks for sharing this.It will definitely be a great combination with wine.I like to drink wine with my Cuban cigars.I buy my Cigars Online.

Laura in Paris said...

Back from Florida? Or still stranded in the warm sand?