How To Cook Perfect Couscous, tiny steamed balls of durum wheat pasta, simply cooked with fresh ingredients to give it bags of flavor. A perfect Moroccan side dish.
Couscous is semolina (tiny granules of durum wheat), and is a traditional staple in North African countries such as Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. It is often served with a 'stew' or casserole where the gravy is soaked up by the couscous.
What is Couscous?
Couscous is a tiny pasta (semolina) made of wheat or barley. Couscous was traditionally hand-rolled, however, nowadays it is machine rolled. Coarsely-ground durum wheat (semolina) is moistened and tossed with fine wheat flour until it forms tiny, round balls.
Couscous is also the national dish of Morocco and can often be served alongside lamb, such as a lamb tagine.
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On its own, it doesn't have much flavor, a bit like pasta. So you need to flavor it and then it transforms into something really quite wonderful!
I love couscous because of its appearance and texture, as well as the flavors I can add to it.
Can you freeze couscous?
Yes, make sure you reheat thoroughly and then use a fork to fluff it back again.
It is easy to prepare and is able to take on many flavors. If you have never eaten couscous or when you did, you found it a little bland or boring, try my recipe and I am sure your opinion will change!
For this recipe, I have added various ingredients such as garlic, fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, and herbs so the couscous takes on a really lovely flavor. If you want to make plain couscous, then simply leave out the extras.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups or 250 g Cous cous
1 cup or 250 ml Boiling hot water
1 Stock cube
The flavorings
1 onion chopped fine
1 cloves garlic, chopped /crushed
1 tomato skin off & chopped
handful of mushrooms chopped small
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper
handful of fresh basil leaves & Flat leaf Parsley - chopped
Tabasco (optional)
How to avoid a stodgy lumpy couscous
Be sure to keep the ratio of water to couscous. Too much water will result in a soggy lumpy consistency! Too little and the couscous won't fluff up.
Instructions
1. Add boiling hot water to a jug with the stock cube and dissolve it. Then add it to the bowl with the cous cous in.
Place a lid or plastic wrap over the bowl. (covering the couscous will allow it to absorb the water).
2. Add olive oil to a pan and cook onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Add salt & pepper.
3. Whilst the onions etc are cooking, place the tomato in a jug with some hot water so the skin can be removed.
4. Cook the onions etc until they are translucent and everything is soft. Remove the tomato from the water and peel off the skin, and chop into cubes.
Add to the pan of onions etc and combine. Remove pan from heat.
5. Remove the lid from the bowl of cous cous and using a fork, poke it around and stir it quite a lot until it fluffs up and the cous cous is not clumped together.
6. Add ALL the contents from the pan to the couscous. Do not drain the juices from the pan. You need the oil and juices to flavor the couscous. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add tabasco, fresh chopped herbs, and combine.
Recipe Card
How To Cook Perfect Couscous
How To Cook Perfect Couscous, tiny steamed balls of durum wheat pasta, simply cooked with fresh ingredients to give it bags of flavor. A perfect side Moroccan side dish.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups or 250 g Cous cous
- 1 cup or 250 ml Boiling hot water
- 1 Stock cube
The flavourings
- I onion chopped fine
- 1 cloves garlic, chopped /crushed
- 1 tomato skin off & chopped
- handful of mushrooms chopped small
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt & pepper
- leaves handful of fresh basil & Flat leaf Parsley - chopped
- Tabasco, optional
Instructions
- Add boiling hot water to a jug with the stock cube and dissolve it. Then add it to the bowl with the cous cous in. Place a lid or plastic wrap over the bowl. (covering the cous cous will allow it to absorb the water.
- Add olive oil to a pan and cook onions, mushrooms and garlic. Add salt & pepper if you wish.
- Whilst the onions etc are cooking, place the tomato in a jug with some hot water so the skin can be removed.
- Cook the onions etc until they are translucent and everything is soft. Remove the tomato from the water and peel off the skin, and chop into cubes. Add to the pan of onions etc and combine. Remove pan from heat.
- Remove the lid from the bowl of cous cous and using a fork, poke it around and stir it quite a lot until it fluffs up and the cous cous is not clumped together.
- Add ALL the contents from the pan to the cous cous. Do not drain first. You need the oil and juices to flavour the cous cous. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add tabasco , fresh chopped herbs and combine.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 2Amount Per Serving: Calories: 286Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 399mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 4gSugar: 7gProtein: 10g
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