Dear readers and fellow bloggers:
Good afternoon. as we already told you a little while ago, we will prepare a couscous of veggies and grilled lamb chops, which will certainly fill our bellies and lift our spirits in this extremely gray day in South Florida. We will attempt to prepare a sauce Béarnaise to accompany the meat in a decisive way. We will sentimentally dub this dish alla Rovino, in honor of Gary Rovin, our late friend and personal attorney, who had a vivacious hustler’s disposition. He was an excellent professional, an entrepreneur and an inveterate traveler who decided to reside part of the year in Queenstown, New Zealand, after retiring in Miami; these lamb chops hark back from that part of the planet. We had many lunch dates together where we talked business, politics and, pour quoi pas, the beauty of passing women. We nicknamed him “Rovino” because he was a feisty bon vivant that made us laugh… May you rest in peace, buddy!
First of all we are going to prepare the vegetable broth so we have enough to cook everything slowly but surely. Then we will proceed to prepare the couscous the same way we have already prepared a risotto (please check steps) In that potage a la Vertamocorii we used Arborio rice as the base of our dish; today we will use couscous instead.
Then we will cut all the vegetables properly on the cutting board. Always remember to soak the mushrooms in some cold water to rinse off all the attached impurities and dirt, besides hydrating them. As if irrigated by the forest rains.
Once we are ready, we put a dollop of olive oil and a piece of butter on our cooking pan, at medium heat, always.
Once it melts, it is time to put the couscous to lightly toast it (this trick will avoid the “sticking” at the bottom)
After two minutes of toasting (not burning) it is time to fill a third of the pan’s capacity with the hot vegetable broth.
Cook the couscous for five minutes, allowing it to absorb enough water, and then start adding the lentils slowly.
Stir the mixture slowly in a clockwise movement. Cook for 5-6 minutes before adding anything else.
Add all the cut veggies and the mushrooms. Continue to stir gently clockwise from the border don to the center.
The mixture should look like the above inserted picture. Cook everything for 10 more minutes at medium heat.
Once you add the tomatoes, you cook and stir for another five minutes before adding the species you have chosen. We used parsley, Venetian style-granulated garlic, tarragon, oregano, sweet paprika and…(hushhhh) a pinch of salt.
Once we have all the ingredients on board, we have to continue stirring gently with a wooden spoon for 10 minutes.
Important note – Now comes the critical step in this cooking process. What is it? You guessed right. Let it stand.
Do not despair. We completed more than half of our journey. Take a refreshing pause of 15 minutes for a drink.
After letting it stand for half an hour at the countertop table, we open the lid and its aroma slaps us on the face. AHHH !!! Que c’est délicieux! It reminds us of the day when we met a Moroccan girl in Paris and…(I’ll tell you later)
Now it’s time to grill the lamb pork chops inside, using our Nuwave Air Fryer , as it is raining heavily in our patio.
Remember to cook the lamb well but not to overdo it. It should be crispy outside and juicy inside. Like this.
You can start putting everything together now in a Pyrex glass container and set it aside for a few minutes.
Once we cooked the couscous, all the veggies and the meat, we will prepare the Béarnaise sauce. We’re excited! Like in a boxing match, we are hearing the voice of the announcer saying: ARE YIU READY?!!! Yes, we are indeed.
Note – We would like to thank Mr. Justin Chapple, Culinary Director at Food and Wine, who made one of the very best videos of how to prepare a delicious Béarnaise sauce and post it in You Tube. Merci beacucoup, mon pote.
These are the elements to prepare the sauce: three egg yolks, diced shallots or green onions, tarragon, lemon juice, white wine vinegar and butter. Justin, a happy guy in his mid 20s, used a lot of butter but, alas, we have to bow to the limitations of time. Three spoons of butter might not make it very creamy, but will not clog our arteries either.
Slowly heat a mix of white wine vinegar, diced green onions and tarragon to reduce the mix properly.
We dutifully followed Justin’s advice and we pre-heated the blender’s vase so the butter would not stick to the wall.
Chan Chan Chan !!! How did it turn out to be, folks. See for yourself down below…
We are so happy and excited that one of the sauces that our family and myself have tasted for years in many restaurants is finally at our own reach, right here at our home. Thank you very much Justin and Food and Wine.
Finally it is time to put everything together and to call everyone to the table. Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served.
Bon apétit!
Stay distant. Stay safe. Stay beautiful.
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Don’t leave me alone.