Oriental couscous with pear and arugula in a parmesan basket with cheese praline

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 50 g couscous
• 1 tsp vegetable broth, instant
• 1 spring onion(s)
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vinegar (truffle vinegar) or balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp Thai red curry paste
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp cumin
• some chili, finely chopped
• 2 handfuls of arugula
• ½ pear(s)
• 110 g Parmesan, finely grated
• 4 grapes, green, seedless
• 2 tbsp cream cheese
• 3 tsp almonds, ground
• ½ tsp horseradish
• 1 shot of gin
• 2 tbsp Gouda, grated
• Salt
• pepper

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Total time approx. 13 hours 30 minutes

Perfect as a small amuse-gueule

Mix the couscous with the vegetable stock powder and stir in the same amount of almost boiling water. Let it stand for 10 minutes. In the meantime, wash the spring onion, arugula, chili, and parsley. Cut the spring onion into half rings. Finely chop the parsley, chili, and arugula. Then add all four ingredients to the couscous. Add the soy sauce, truffle vinegar, olive oil, curry paste, tomato paste, and cumin to the couscous and mix well until everything is a solid red color. Season the couscous salad with salt and pepper to taste. Wash and peel the pear, and mix it with the couscous just before serving. Add more curry paste to taste. Spread about 20g of Parmesan evenly over a round surface in a small pan (approx. 15cm in diameter). Turn on the heat and heat the Parmesan until it starts to bubble, then remove from the heat. Let cool briefly, remove from the pan with a spatula, and shape into a small basket using an upturned glass. Press the edges firmly and let cool. Be careful, it’s easy to burn your fingers. Repeat this process four times until you have four beautifully shaped baskets. For the cheese praline, mix the cream cheese, horseradish, a little Parmesan, the grated Gouda, and the ground almonds. Add a dash of gin to taste. The mixture should have the consistency of cream cheese. Don’t be afraid of a strong gin or horseradish taste; this will disappear after the steeping time. Refrigerate the mixture for 12 hours and let it steep. Wash the grapes and pat dry. Cover each grape with the praline mixture and then roll in ground almonds. Shaping is best done with slightly damp hands or using two teaspoons as a shaping aid. It requires a bit of skill. Then refrigerate the cheese pralines. Fill each Parmesan basket with a little couscous and garnish with a cheese praline.