Ingredients
Couscous
- 1/2 Cup California golden raisins
- 1/2 Cup California natural raisins
- 1/2 Cup fresh orange juice
- 2 Teaspoons rum extract
- 1 Cup water
- 1/4 Cup honey
- 1 bag spiced tea*
- 3/4 Cup plain couscous**
- 1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 Teaspoon almond extract
- 1 can (15 ounces) Mandarin orange slices, drained
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Procedure
Measure raisins and orange juice into small saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and boil 1 minute. Stir in rum extract and remove from heat; cover and set aside.
Combine water and honey in a medium saucepan; add tea bag and bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to infuse tea. When water just begins to boil, squeeze tea bag as dry as possible and discard. Stir in couscous; remove from heat. Cover and let stand as directed on package, at least 5 minutes. Then, stir in cinnamon and almond extract with a fork. Add raisins and blend well. Drain any remaining liquid and reserve for sauce. Very gently fold in orange slices. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Meanwhile, mix yogurt, reserved liquid and cardamon together in small bowl until smooth and creamy. Cover and chill.
To serve, mix chopped mint into couscous. Divide and spoon one-half of couscous into 8 ramekins or custard cups. Drizzle each with 1 teaspoon sauce and divide remaining couscous evenly on top. Then, drizzle each with 1 to 2 teaspoons additional sauce. Garnish each bowl with mint leaves and store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Chef Notes: Celestial Seasonings’ Bengal Spice tea and Near East brand couscous preferred.
Mom’s bread pudding had tons of raisins and plenty of hard sauce – and calories. This recipe is a healthy nod to that southern dish.
Sauce
- 1 carton (6 ounces) custard-style vanilla yogurt
- 3 Tablespoons reserved liquid from couscous
- 1/4 Teaspoon ground cardamon
- 8 mint sprigs; for garnish