Yes, you can create your own ricotta cheese at home to eat on its own or to incorporate into your favorite Italian dishes. For one to two weeks, keep the ricotta covered and airtight in the refrigerator.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 25 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1 cup pearl (Israeli) couscous
- 2 cups chicken broth
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup diced pimientos
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
- 3 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir couscous in the melted butter until slightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until most of the stock is absorbed and the couscous have plumped, 6 to 7 minutes.
- Stir heavy cream and pimientos into couscous; add cayenne pepper and cook until couscous is tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add more broth if needed.
- Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar cheese until melted; add chives and stir to combine. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 360 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 31 g |
| Cholesterol | 72 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Sodium | 784 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This is delicious! The fanciest of mac and cheese. The texture of the couscous is unique and an excellent side dish. I look forward to experimenting with other cheeses and spices to complement the main. The husband gobbled this up and even had seconds. Thanks, Chef John!
We make this often at our house. Sometimes I change the type of cheese to change the flavor a bit. Overall, this is a family favorite. Takes a little while because you have to simmer and stir, so plan for 30 minutes to make it.
This is wonderful! I ended up adding about 3 cups of chicken broth because it was too thick and I did not add the pimento out of personal preference. I will definitely keep keep this in my favorites.
Nice alternative to mac & cheese. Used roasted red peppers instead of pimentos.
I absolutely LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it a bunch of different times with different types of cheeses, and each time used cream (as instructed), half and half, and even milk, and haven’t had any problems. I’m sensitive to lactose, so my favorite way to make this recipe is with Cabot’s lactose free white cheddar and lactose free half and half. I prefer to omit the pimientos and add extra cheese to taste, and I always make this in bulk so I can share. This recipe tastes twice as good after a day or two in the fridge. Amazing
Nice change from the typical. Many things can be added and changed for flavor variations. We all loved it.
First off, I dislike it when reviewers change the recipe and then rate it. You are rating your recipe. Anyway, I made this as written a few times. The last time I made it my instant pot. Easy and tasty.
We have made this twice now and my kids have raved about it to their friends and beg for it to be added to the meal plan…all the time! Thank you, Chef John.
It turned out a little watery.
Turned out amazing. Will definitely make again.
I don’t make changes to new recipes, ever. Otherwise, how could you judge it fairly? This dish was delicious. Trying to eat less red meat and I served it with roasted broccoli.
The cheese and heavy cream taste was very prominent but the taste wasn’t bad at all. I think the issue was, my mouth expected there to be more of a hot and seasoned flavor, and there wasn’t, so my brain was very confused. Not my cup of tea, (or should I say cup of couscous) but I’m sure others would like it! I would suggest experimenting with different seasons to help bring another flavor to the plate.
This recipe was sent from the heavens. The angels sang in my mouth when I tasted it. Added smoked gruyere. Also used a palmetto cheese spread because I didnt have pimentos.
Substituted the heavy cream for low fat milk with a bit of cornstarch to thicken. Also added some paprika, saw some others did too and it was a great idea!! Delicious!
Had to make slight changes because we didn’t have all ingredients, so we used sour cream instead of heavy cream, and paprika instead of the other spices. This recipe seems flexible, though, and I’ll probably add garlic, onions and spinach next time. Wouldn’t say that it tastes exactly like Mac & Cheese because the texture is very different. Still very good tho!
I had this for the first time in a restaurant, BJ’s, in Washington state. Absolutely delicious! Definitely going to make this soon!
Ok so I’m in the kitchen excepting company in minutes & I am looking at a box of Mac n cheese thinking I cannot serve this. I saw the couscous and after a quick recipe search found this. Love it!! I did omit this pimentos & cayenne pepper as my focus group was 5 kids ages 6, 4, 3, 1 & 1. They all loved it including the adults. Will definitely make this again as it came together quickly and was better than a box of Mac n cheese. Thank you again Chef John!
Better than the box. Understand: Kraft Mac and cheese is my GO TO comfort food, so this is SUCH high praise. Most nights, I try to make special, unique dinners, but some nights are just hot dogs and Mac and cheese nights, until you reMember you don’t have Mac and cheese. Until tonight. I think this replaces my box. I did add a TB of cream cheese in the cream phase (partly because I had 1/2 and 1/2 instead of heavy.) And I tossed in a little Dijon and garlic powder and left out pimentos (because I am a purist when it comes to Mac and cheese). So delicious. so easy. I will no longer go to the box. THANK YOU.
This has become a staple at our house that we have at least once a month now. Thanks!
Fantastic!
I did not have pimento either but loved the splash of color so added a half red poblano diced and sautéed. My cheese was not sharp – I think sharp would have made it tastier. Was looking for couscous my teenage grandson would eat. Success will try again w sharp cheddar.