Cooking Couscous Steaming Traditional Couscous Recipes

CLASSIC STEAMED COUSCOUS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups chicken stock, olive oil, saffron, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring to dissolve salt. Remove from heat and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes to infuse saffron flavor.
• Fill the bottom of a couscoussier half-full with water. Add carrots, onions, celery, and parsley; bring to a simmer.
• Place the couscous in a very large glass bowl; pour the infused stock over couscous, straining to remove saffron, if desired. Let couscous absorb the liquid, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
• Scoop up some of the couscous and rub it with your fingers to separate any lumps, letting it fall back into the bowl. Repeat process until no lumps remain.
• Meanwhile, increase heat under couscoussier to bring water to a gentle boil; add more water if needed to maintain level.
• Transfer couscous to a steamer basket set over a plate to catch any grains (returning them to the basket if they do). Run fingers lightly over top to make sure couscous is evenly distributed; set steamer basket over gently boiling water in couscoussier. If necessary, carefully wrap a large piece of plastic wrap around the rim of bottom pot to keep steam from escaping. Once couscous begins to steam, steam for 30 minutes.
• Carefully remove plastic wrap, if using, and then steamer basket, pulling toward you so you do not get burned by escaping steam. Spread couscous on a terra-cotta tray or in a bowl and let stand until cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, add enough water to bottom of the couscoussier to bring its level back to the halfway point. Return to a boil. Clean and dry the steamer basket, discarding any couscous that stuck to it.
• Repeat process in step 4 to separate couscous. When couscous returns to room temperature, transfer couscous to cleaned steamer basket; add plastic wrap, if needed, and steam until tender and appears sweaty, 15 to 30 minutes. Spread couscous out on tray or in bowl and let cool.
• Place remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock in a clean spray bottle or small bowl. Return couscous to steamer basket; set over couscoussier; bring to a gentle boil. Immediately begin to add remaining stock, spraying couscous 15 to 20 times or drizzling with about 2 tablespoons over grains. Continue adding stock and stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. Transfer couscous to tray or bowl. It should have doubled in size to about 6 cups.

HOW TO COOK COUSCOUS

Steps:

• In a saucepan, add broth or water. Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt. Bring to a boil.
• Now, toast the couscous. In a non-stick skillet or pan, heat about 1 to 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Add the couscous and toss around with a wooden spoon until golden brown. This is an optional step but can really adds a great nutty flavor.
• Stir couscous in the boiled liquid quickly and immediately turn the heat off. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes or until couscous has completely absorbed the broth or water.
• Uncover and fluff with a fork.
• You can serve couscous plain, or mix in spices and herbs to give it more flavor. If you like, add in a pinch of cumin, sautéed garlic, chopped green onions, and fresh herbs or your choice. Enjoy!

STEAMED COUSCOUS, THE AUTHENTIC WAY

Steps:

• Set couscous in a bowl and pour 2 quarts water over it. Swish around and drain water off. Spread couscous grain in a baking pan and leave them to swell for 10 minutes. Rub couscous between your wet hands to break up lumps. Let stand another 10 minutes.
• Combine the broth, water cinnamon stick, ginger and cumin in the bottom of a couscousiere. Secure the top of the couscousiere to the bottom with a dampened piece of cheesecloth, lightly dusted with flour and large enough to go around the rim of the top. When the liquid comes to a boil, slowly dribble 1/4 of the swollen couscous into steamer, forming them into a mound. Steam uncovered for 5 minutes, then add the remaining couscous. Steam over low heat, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
• Remove the top of the couscousiere (if the liquid in the bottom seems low, add some more water or broth) and dump the couscous into a large shallow pan and spread it out with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cold water and 1/2 teaspoon salt over the couscous. Break up lumps by lifting couscous and stirring the grains with a fork. Lightly oil your hands and rework grains, rubbing them through your fingertips, to keep them separate. Dry for 10 minutes. (Can do in advance up to this point and keep until the final steaming with a damp cloth over top).
• Return the dried couscous to the top of the couscousiere (resealing it with cheesecloth again) and dribble couscous in as before, in a soft mound. Steam uncovered for 20 minutes more. Serve with chick peas stew and garnish with sliced toasted almonds.

STEAMED COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Place couscous in a fine strainer and rinse under cold running water. Dump couscous onto a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt, and let stand until grains swell, about 10 minutes. Break up lumps with your fingers.
• Partially fill a large steamer pot or stockpot with 1-inch water. Bring water to simmer. Place damp tea towel in steamer or colander and add couscous. Fold towel over couscous. Steam, covered, over simmering water for 15 minutes.
• Pour couscous onto large, rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with 1/2 cup cold water. Toss with slotted spatula until cool and the water is absorbed. Spritz hands with olive oil and spread out couscous, breaking up any lumps as you go. Set aside for 5 minutes.
• Refill pot with enough water to make 1-inch again. Return couscous to colander or steamer and steam, covered, for 10 minutes.

TRADITIONAL NORTH AFRICAN COUSCOUS (THE REAL WAY!)

Steps:

• Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic & place it in a large heavy bottomed pan with the meat or chicken, ras el hanout & a little olive oil. Fry gently to seal the meat/chicken. I use my pressure cooker pr large cast iron casserole for this.
• Chop the carrot, parsnip and courgette into 6ths. Cut the potato into 1/4's and roughly chop the swede. Chop khourchef or celery into roughly same size as carrot. (Peel the carrots, potato, parsnip and swede).
• Add the vegetables to the meat along with 1L of water and turn up heat so they begin simmering. If using the chilli add it now, along with salt and pepper. If cooking in a regular pan then cook for 40 minutes like this. If using the pressure cooker as I do then 20 minutes will be enough.
• Add the tomatoes, chick peas and dried mint and 1/2L more water or enough to create a 'stew' consistency.
• Return to heat and cook in pan for further 30 minutes and if using pressure cooker then cook on med to high for a further 25 minutes.
• Take a 500g pack of medium couscous and pour into a gas'a if you have one. If not find the biggest bowl you have. Pick out any 'bits' and sprinkle water - about 50mls and a tsp of salt over the couscous and using your hand rub 1/2 tsp of oil through the couscous to stop it sticking. Fill a couscousier or steamer half full with the couscous (as it swells).
• When you 1st notice steam coming from the couscous, count 10 minutes. After that remove from the steamer, place in gas'a and use your hands to 'open' the couscous (rub it together between hands to remove clumps). This is very hot and you need to keep wetting you hand with cold water and sprinkling a little on the couscous.
• Return to steamer when thoroughly opened. Repeat process of steaming and opening twice more.
• Finally remove from steamer and place back in gas'a. Open for final time and rub a tbsp of ghee or smen into the couscous along with 2tsp of butter or margarine. Add salt to taste.
• Serve the couscous in the gas'a with sauce on top as traditional style or in tagine etc. Usually we place the meat/chicken in place - 1 for each guest and decorate the couscous with the veg before ladling some of the sauce over the top.
• If you used the chilli, put it on a plate and let people help themselves to it!

COOKING COUSCOUS: COOKING WITH COMMERCIAL QUICK-COOKING COUSCOUS

Steps:

• An Easy Way of Preparing Quick-Cooking Couscous in the Oven
• This is how I make couscous. It is very simple, and you can hardly fail, but there is an art to doing it well.
• A package of couscous weighing 500 grams contains 3 cups, while a 1-pound package contains only 2 3/4 cups, so you had better measure it, as the weight varies depending on the brand. A foreign brand is likely to be 500 grams.
• In North Africa 6 cups usually serve 6-8 people, but for us 3-4 cups are ample.
• Put the couscous in a wide oven dish so that the grains are not squashed on top of each other. I use a large round clay dish, in which I also serve. Gradually add the same volume (3 cups for 3 cups of grain) of warm salted water (with 1/2-1 teaspoon of salt), stirring all the time so that it is absorbed evenly. Keep fluffing up the grain with a fork and breaking up any lumps (as the grains stick together). After about 10-15 minutes, when the grain is plump and tender, mix in 3 tablespoons vegetable oil and rub the grain between your hands above the bowl, to air it and break up any lumps.
• Put the dish, uncovered (I used to cover it with foil, but now I find that leaving it uncovered keeps it fluffier), in a preheated 400°F oven and heat through for 15-20 minutes, until very hot. After about 10 minutes, fluff it up again with a fork. (Smaller quantities can be heated, covered, in a microwave oven.)
• Before serving, work in 3 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil and break up any lumps very thoroughly.
• Other common package instructions recommended by manufacturers
• For 2 people, boil 1 cup salted water in a saucepan. Remove from the heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 cup couscous, and mix. Allow the couscous to expand for 5-7 minutes, then add a knob of butter and separate the grains with a fork. Reheat for a minute over low heat while continuously stirring, or place for 1 minute in a microwave oven.
• For 5-6 people, use 3 cups couscous. Empty the box into a dish and moisten with lukewarm water mixed with 1/2-1 teaspoon salt. Allow 10 minutes for the couscous to puff up before steaming in a couscoussier. As soon as the steam has penetrated through the couscous, empty into a dish and toss with butter or oil.
• Serving Couscous
• The traditional way to serve couscous is in a wide, round, slightly deep dish. Shape the grain in a mound or a cone with a hollow at the top. Lay the meat in the hollow and the vegetables on top or on the sides. Pour 1 or 2 ladles of broth over it all. Bring the rest of the broth to the table separately. By tradition, couscous is a communal dish, and the old way was for everyone to eat with one hand from the serving dish, from the side in front of them. Nowadays it is eaten with a spoon. The meat is supposed to be so tender that you don't need to cut it with a knife. On grand occasions the mound of couscous is garnished with boiled chickpeas, raisins, and fried blanched almonds, as well as sprinklings of confectioners' sugar and ground cinnamon for decoration.
• Another way of serving, which has been adopted in France and which you might find more practical, is to serve in separate dishes: the grain on its own, the broth with the meat and vegetables in a separate bowl. Serve in soup plates, the grain on the bottom with the meat and vegetables and the broth ladled on top. If you like, pass around a peppery sauce made by adding harissa (page 464) or ground chili pepper to a few ladles of the broth.
• Garnishes
• Sprinkle the grain with cinnamon and confectioners' sugar and whole or chopped toasted blanched almonds, making a design with lines of cinnamon fanning down like rays from the top.
• Decorate with walnut halves and raisins.
• Side Dishes
• For caramelized onions, cook 2 pounds sliced onions in about 4 tablespoons sunflower oil, with the lid on, over very low heat, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes, until very soft. Then cook uncovered until they are really very brown, stirring often. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and cook a few minutes more.
• Simmer 1/2 pound raisins in water to cover for about 10 minutes, until soft, and serve them in a bowl.
• Soak 1/2 pound chickpeas for at least 1 hour, then drain and simmer in fresh water for 1 1/2 hours, or until very tender, adding salt when they begin to soften. Serve them hot in a bowl in their cooking water.
• Variations to the Grain
• For saffron couscous, add 1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron to the water before moistening the couscous.
• Serve the grain mixed with hot cooked or canned chickpeas, heated through, and raisins, boiled in a little water and then strained.

RECONSTITUTED STEAMED COUSCOUS

Steps:

• Place the couscous in a bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt (preferably kosher salt) per cup of couscous and mix together. Combine 1/2 to 1 cup of broth from the stew you plan to serve with the couscous with enough warm water to cover the couscous by about 1/2 inch. Let sit for 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Stir every five minutes with a wooden spoon, or rub the couscous between your moistened thumbs and fingers so that it doesn't lump. The couscous will now be fairly soft; fluff it with a fork or with your hands. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil, rubbing the couscous between your fingers to distribute the oil throughout. Have the stew at a simmer. Line a colander, sieve or the top part of a couscoussier (a special pot for couscous) with a single layer of cheesecloth, and place the couscous in it. Set it over the stew, making sure that the bottom of the colander does not touch the liquid (remove some of the liquid if it does). Wrap a towel between the edge of the colander and the pot if there is a space, so that steam doesn't escape. Steam 20 to 30 minutes. The couscous should be fluffy, the grains dry and separate, not al dente and not mushy.

COOKING COUSCOUS: STEAMING TRADITIONAL COUSCOUS

Steps:

• The grain must cook only in the steam. It must not touch the broth throughout the steaming. The couscoussier, the pot traditionally used, is made of glazed earthenware or tinned copper, and, more recently, of aluminum or stainless steel, and has two parts-the bottom is a large round pot in which the stew is cooked, the top consists of a colander to hold the couscous. If you cannot get an authentic couscoussier, you can improvise with a metal colander with small holes that fits snugly over a large pan. It is important that steam can escape only from the top, so seal the join with a band of wet cloth (it is most effective if the wet cloth is steeped in a flour-and-water paste) or with aluminum foil.
• When the stew in the bottom part of the couscoussier is well on the way (about 1 hour before the end of cooking), start preparing the grain. Wash 3 cups couscous in plenty of water and drain in a sieve. Put in a wide bowl and let the grain absorb the moisture for 10 minutes. Then rub between your hands to break up any lumps and to air the grain. Turn it into the sieve part of the couscoussier, sprinkling the grain lightly in layers and not pressing it down. Do not cover the sieve with a lid. After the couscous begins to give off steam, continue to steam for 15 minutes.
• Now turn the couscous out back into the bowl. Sprinkle 1 cup of cold water mixed with 1 teaspoon salt over the couscous, then turn and rake the grain with a serving spoon, and, when it is cool enough to handle, rub it between the palms of your hands to break up any lumps and separate and air the grains. The water will make the grains swell. Leave the couscous for 10 minutes, then sprinkle on more water (about 1 cup), until it becomes swollen and tender. Return to the top of the couscoussier, and when the steam emerges, let it steam for a further 10 minutes.
• Turn out the couscous again. Rub 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in with your hands, and air the grain again. Steam a third time, for 5 minutes. (This can be done much later, just before serving.)
• Stir in 2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces.
• The grain can also be steamed over boiling water.