Cooking With Couscous

Couscous is a type of small pasta that looks like little golden grains which was traditionally made and eaten in North Africa. It's a staple of Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian cooking. But you'll also find it used throughout the Middle East in many recipes. There is also an Israeli form of couscous that is much larger. It's sometimes called "pearl couscous" due to its size and shape.  In the debate of whether couscous is either a grain or a pasta, the answer is "yes."  It really seems to stand right on the line between the two.

For a busy cook, couscous can be a blessing as it cooks in mere minutes compared to something like rice. It's also got a higher content of protein compared to other forms of pasta so a lot of people trying to consume less carbohydrates often cook with couscous.

This Hub has information on the history of couscous, directions for how to make your own homemade couscous from scratch, and instructions for how to cook couscous traditionally using a steamer instead of boiling it.

If there is a lost art to couscous, it's in the actual making of it from scratch. Pre-formed, ready-to-cook couscous has nearly replaced any and all forms of handmade couscous. However, if you truly want an authentic experience and the freshest, healthiest couscous for your cooking, you'll want to give rolling your own couscous a try. If you really want to be the ultimate in "hardcore," be sure to grind your own durum wheat yourself.

To form the couscous, the wheat is rolled by hand on a broad tray or in a shallow basket. After the couscous is formed, it has to dry so that the tiny pellets won't stick when you cook them. If you are going to make your own, set aside an entire day for the process of making and drying it.

The result is a sort of pasta in the form of tiny grains. This can be part of a main entree, or it can be a side dish. It's often served with stews or vegetables over it. Try it in recipes where you'd normally put something over rice and see how you like it.

One mistake many cooks make is that they boil their couscous. Traditionally, these tiny bits of pasta were steamed, often three to five times before being served. This allows them to absorb moisture slowly and become quite fluffy.

A kiskis is the original name for a couscous steamer pot and may be part of the root of the modern name. These pots come in two sections, almost like a double boiler. The couscous goes in the top pot. Broth, sometimes with meat or vegetables in it goes in the lower pot and as the food in the lower pot cooks, the couscous is both steamed and flavored. This is part of why traditional couscous is so much more fluffy and flavorful than modern, ready-made couscous.

Since so many people cook with a ready-made form of couscous, here are some suggestions for getting a better and more flavorful result.

1. Don't boil your couscous. There's no reason to actually cook this over active heat.
2. Use a ratio of 1 cup couscous to 1.25 cups of liquid. If you are camping and running short on water, things will still work if you use a 1:1 ration, but the couscous comes out lighter with a bit more liquid.
3. Make the couscous ahead of time and then steam to fluff before serving. If you put your couscous in a lined steamer basket over a cooking pot or in an electric steamer to reheat it, you can get a really nice, full texture.
4. Instead of plain water, use broth. For a richer flavor, make your couscous with vegetable or chicken broth. If you've always found couscous to be really bland, you absolutely need to give this a try.
5. Try toasting your couscous before you cook it. Heat some olive oil or butter in a pan, and then gently cook some garlic or onions. Once those are starting to brown, add in your couscous and make sure to keep stirring it so it doesn't burn. When the couscous starts to get toasted, turn off the heat, add your water or broth and cover.