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Moroccan Spice-crusted Tempeh with Couscous

A couscous salad topped with Moroccan-spiced grilled tempeh and fresh herbs.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 20 ingredients
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Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Moroccan Spice-crusted Tempeh with Couscous

Time20 to 30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the couscous salad

  1. Combine couscous, 1 1/2 cups hot water, currants, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Let stand until couscous is tender and water is absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes.

  2. Fluff couscous with a fork.

  3. Whisk lemon juice, olive oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.

  4. Add couscous, tomato, scallions, and mint; toss gently to mix. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Steam and spice the tempeh

  1. Prepare a hot charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill on high.

  2. Heat 2 inches of water to boiling in a large, wide saucepan over high heat. Place tempeh in a steamer basket in the saucepan, cover, and steam for 10 minutes.

  3. In a small bowl, mix paprika, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, salt, pepper, honey, lemon juice, and olive oil.

  4. Transfer tempeh to a shallow dish or plate and coat both sides evenly with the spice mixture.

Grill and serve

  1. Lightly oil the grill.

  2. Place tempeh on the grill and cook until nicely browned and crusty, 2 to 4 minutes per side.

  3. Divide couscous salad among serving plates, mounding the mixture slightly. Cut grilled tempeh into thin slices and fan over the couscous salad.

  4. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

733Calories
26 gProtein
24 gFat
114 gCarbs

Counts 14 of 15 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 14 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Couscous1 cup cooked (157g)176
Tempeh100g160
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Honey1 tbsp (21g)64
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Maple Syrup1 tbsp (20ml)52
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Peppermintnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cumin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,103 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  3. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Tomato + cumintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,272 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Cumin + gingertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,733 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Couscous
Absorbs the hot water and softens into the tender base of the salad.
Tempeh
Firm, protein-rich base that holds its shape and browns to a crusty surface on the grill.
Currants
Plump up in the hot water, adding pockets of sweetness to the salad.
Extra-virgin olive oil
Carries the lemon dressing and gives the salad a rich, smooth mouthfeel.
Honey
Sweetens the spice coating and helps it caramelize and brown on the grill.
Fresh lemon juice
Adds acidity that brightens the dressing and balances the sweetness and spices.

The step that matters

Grilling the coated tempeh until browned and crusty. The honey and spices can scorch over high heat before the surface crisps. Steaming first and oiling the grill help the tempeh brown evenly without sticking or burning.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, olive, tomato, mint, cumin, ginger, cinnamon):

  1. Limefits better
  2. Orangefits better
  3. Avocadofits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, olive, tomato, mint, cumin, ginger, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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