Spiced Beef Patties with Couscous

My current favorite site for all things DIY, Bohemian Revolution, had a page of 150 recipes for dishes with couscous... and since I love couscous and love trying my hand at 'exotic' foods, I thought I'd give one of the recipes a go!


Based on what I had in my cupboards, I decided to go with the Spiced Beef Patties.  And it was a lot easier to make than I thought it'd be!  ...Suspiciously easy.  Next time, I'm going to have to try something a bit more complicated.  And authentic.  Haha.


Basic ingredients:
1 1/3 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, minced (about 2/3 cup)
3 tablespoons water
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 package plain couscous
chopped cilantro

Combine the beef, onion, water, oil, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and coriander in a large bowl.  Unfortunately, I had the cumin and coriander... but not ground.  I improvised with a make-shift mortar and pestle (a small Pyrex mixing bowl and the round, hard end of a spatula) to grind it myself.  Needless to say, the 'shells' added a special crunch to the patties.  Not bad, but not perfect.  : P

Heat the skillet, and spray with non-stick stuff so the patties don't... get... stuck.  Shape the meat mixture (haha, ew) into patties, about 3/4 in thick.  Cook till done (everyone's different - Kevin favors meat as raw as it can be).  

While the patties cook, make the couscous by - FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS ON THE BOX!! - filling a medium saucepan with water (maybe 3 cups?) and a bit of oil.  Bring the water to boil, and stir in the couscous.  It'll be done in about two literal minutes.  


Arrange the patties on a platter and dump as much couscous as you and a friend can eat in the middle.  Sprinkle liberal amounts of cilantro on top of the whole thing.  Then, enjoy! 

Kevin wasn't such a fan.  He said it was too dry.  Maybe it was... could've used a gravy or something.  Alas, no beef broth in the house.  Plus, he doesn't like onions.  Even for their flavor.  No fun.  I, however, thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the dryness.  I think adding cinnamon to the meat was an inspired move.


A fun and easy meal - approx. 20 min!  Please try and let me know how you love it!