Giant Couscous Cake With Roasted Pepper Sauce Recipe (2024)

Nice idea but this recipe looks/sounds a lot better than it tastes. The pancake is ok, but not very exciting. The sauce is too sweet—I might make it again and use it for something else, but would omit the maple syrup and add some heat to it instead, either hot sauce or just roast a couple chiles along w the sweet peppers.

There is a quick way to remove skins from sweet peppers, as soon as you tske them out of the oven, put them in a closed container, ( eg a ziplock bag,paperbag or a covered bowl ), leave them for a few minutes, the skins come off easily then.

I made this today but with a lot of substitutions. I used quinoa instead of couscous which worked great, protein instead of carbs! I did not have spinach nor Greek Yogurt but I substituted ricotta for yogurt. When I prepared the pepper sauce I used assorted mini peppers and one jalapeño. I didn’t bother to take the skins off and it mixed up just find in my small food processor.I also browned in on top of stove briefly then baked in oven at 350 for the designated time in a cast iron skillet.

Unusually for an Ottonlengi recipe, I had all the ingredients on hand. Definitely needs the sauce as an accompaniment. Be interesting to replace the couscous with potatoes and make a funky latke.

Large is an inaccurate measurement for a skillet. Please indicate diameter size.

This recipe absolutely did not work as advertised. The cake wouldn't cook through and then burnt to a crisp on the bottom. Save yourself the trouble and put the cast iron in the oven to bake instead.

Also, used a combo of brown rice and quinoa. Dry measurements were half c brown rice and full c quinoa. Cooked amount was perfect. I let the cooked grains sit out to get dry and chewy like one would for fried rice. I think it made a big difference in texture. GF flour used for the regular flour as well. And like so many others I started stovetop in a cast iron and finished under the broiler. Really delicious. Oh and that pepper sauce is great! Used more vinegar because we enjoy that tanginess.

This was a terrific meal, however, I have one criticism. Perhaps double the sauce portion?!

Roasted garlic skins should be added to the stock pot

Ottolenghi fan girl here - I have all the cookbooks except for Flavor. Have been to a few of the restaurants in London and always swoon. Eh, this was not as good as expected, and I didn't make substitutions. The pepper sauce, however, is a keeper. Perhaps to simplify, just make the couscous, stir in some spinach and cheese (I do think Gruyere would be better than the mozzarella and Pecorino), top with some sauce and save yourself an additional thirty minutes.

Always looking for ways to use sweet Italian peppers and tomatoes this time of year. Made the sauce, skipped the cake. Substituted 6 ounces by weight of flame roasted peppers that I had on hand, skipped the maple syrup and dialed the vinegar back to one teaspoon. Quite nice. Yield was about 13 ounces by volume.

I had the same issue and could not flip. I also used cast iron. When I couldn't flip, I put in the oven on broil and achieved a nice darkening on the top.

This was good comfort food. A bit of work for what it is, but I'll try it again with more experimentation. I wish I'd served it with a fried egg on top and will do that next time.

Lisa, though I haven't had a chance to make this yet, my read is that either a blender or a food processor will work. Just add all of the ingredients to whichever machine you have, or the one you dislike washing the least!

The recipe suggests "other grains." Contrary to popular belief, couscous is NOT a grain, but a pasta.

I'm glad I stuck with the pearled couscous, which had a nice texture. In the sauce, I added Thai chilis to the roasting pan, didn't peel the veggies, decreased syrup to 1/4 tsp, and added smoked paprika. For the cake, I added more scallions, basil, an extra egg; used gruyere+cheddar+parm (on top); and went with the broiling method for 8 minutes rather than flipping the cake. This recipe is fun and yummy! I plan to play with the flavors. Maybe balsamic glaze instead of the tomato/pepper sauce?

I didn’t realize until eating, this is essentially spinach lasagna, but with a nicer texture (the couscous is very satisfying in the mix). The sauce was good, but would have been just as happy (happier?) with some harissa on top. Was a nice dinner, not quite the mind-blowingly tasty I’m used to from Ottolenghi.

I made half a recipe for two people, and it was very well received. Made a full recipe of sauce, which was truly delicious. Skipped the maple syrup in the sauce and it was perfect. Didn't have coriander seeds so I subbed a teaspoon of ground, but next time I might add more. Will add more spinach and basil next time, I think. The cooking times we perfect. To flip, I slid the cake out onto a plate, crispy side down, and topped it with another plate before flipping over.

I love the looks of this, but have a serious aversion to bell peppers. Any thoughts on a substitute sauce to make?

I cut this in half and made with parsley instead of basil (he did say you could substitute :-). Prepared in a 10" interlocking frittata pan so I didn't worry about the sliding and inverting part of the preparation (although it released so well from the pan it wouldn't have been an issue). Half recipe cooked nicely in 19 minutes total (14 & 5). Served with the pepper sauce (I omitted the syrup as some suggested) and YO's tahini sauce that is in several of his cookbooks. Keeper for us.

Has anyone done this with vegan substitutions? I have a family that has recently become vegan and we are looking for new satisfying meal ideas.

This recipe worked pretty well for me; my main goal was to use up the half bag of (expired) pearl couscous living in my pantry. It reminds me of a Spanish tortilla, with the same flipping technique as SE's version (which I've made a few times). I didn't have coriander seeds so I used cumin seeds. I used a mix of cheddar and monterey jack rather than mozz. And as per all the other reviewers I didn't add the maple syrup into the sauce until last (and then I did it by taste). Messy but tasty!

I substituted almost everything. I used leftover black rice for my grain (delightfully chewy), bok choy instead of spinach, and a mix of cheeses. I thought I had yogurt and when I didn't I just added more cheese and some coconut milk instead. And you know what? It was fabulous! I did 20 or so minutes on the stovetop and about 15 minutes in the oven at 350, using a cast iron the whole way. I got the flip about halfway right. Great for dinner w/a salad and brekkie the next day w/a fried egg.

Flavors are great, but technique is overly complicated. I made it like a frittata. I subbed gruyere for other cheeses, didn’t bother w scallions, sprayed the All-Clad 12” skillet w non-stick spray, per other commenters I cut the oil—I used 4 tbsp, suggest 3–cooked it on the stove, then popped it in broiler for 7-8 minutes. 2 notes: do NOT use regular couscous, use pearl/Israeli couscous. And not all heads of garlic are the same. It’s 2 small or 1 large (remaining sauce is good on fish)

Delicious! several steps involved--but each step is easy. Recipe states it serves 4--these would be large servings. For us, we cut recipe down to half.

Whole family, including toddlers, loved this. Added a little paprika (0.5 tbs?) to the couscous, omitted the maple syrup, and tried to save a little time by broiling the peppers and tomato (No need, can make the sauce as the couscous cooks, so it still took me an hour to pull this together). Would love to add a little heat to the sauce next time we're eating without the little ones.

This works fine with quinoa instead of couscous. And not sweet, but savory and a bit hot!

Too much work. About the same effort as making a moussaka.The red pepper sauce is excellent. Forget the couscous cake.

OMG! I am obsessed with this recipe. Did not make the pepper sauce since I don't have a food processor or blender.... but I am in looove with the couscous cake! It reminds me of a risotto al fritto, especially if you don't brown the underside. Keeps it moist on the inside (especially since 1 1/2 cups of couscous does not make a "giant" cake) Excited to try this method with other ingredients in the cake!

Made this tonight after wanting to for a long time. It was delicious but an absolute mess. Couldn't get it out of the pan and it didn't cook all the way through. Wish I had read all of the brilliant notes before I got started. Putting it under the broiler would have made all the difference. Loved the sauce. Added some smoked paprika for a little more flavor depth.