Despite the prevailing belief among a certain part of people and a deceptive appearance, couscous is not a type of cereal. This is the type of paste that is obtained by mixing semolina and wheat flour.
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What couscous is made of
Couscous or couscous is a pasta popular in Mediterranean cuisine, Middle Eastern and Maghreb cuisine, served as a side dish, put in soups, cooked pilaf with it and added to salads. Like pasta, couscous consists of durum wheat flour, but most of this flour is ground with so-called coarse or high-quality grinding. This is how wheat grains are grinded for semolina in colloquial semolina. Housewives in North Africa initially prepared couscous for a long time by rubbing semolina, slightly sprinkled with salt water and sprinkled with flour, between the palms of their hands, achieving the formation of small lumps that looked like grains. Later, couscous began to be prepared by grinding a moist mass through a fine-mesh sieve. The last stage in the preparation of couscous is drying. This results in a fine paste suitable for relatively long cooking.
In stores, they often sell instant couscous; this is a product that has already been pre-steamed and then dried. It is brought to final readiness by just adding a little boiling water and holding it under a lid or bringing to a boil over low heat.
For the first time, couscous is mentioned in written sources dated 230 BC
What is couscous served with?
Although couscous is pasta, it is closer to rice in its gastronomic qualities. Just like this cereal, it is rich in complex carbohydrates, has a delicate taste, but it perfectly absorbs aromas and emphasizes the rich palette of ingredients added to it. Like rice, couscous can become not only a side dish or part of hot or cold appetizers and main dishes, but also a dessert. Sweetened with sugar water, mixed with cinnamon, fruits and almonds or raisins and pistachios, it is no less tasty than seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and mint.
There are larger pearl or Israeli couscous and smaller Libyan or Lebanese couscous. It is also believed that homemade handmade couscous is much tastier than the factory one.
Most often, couscous is served as a side dish for lamb, lamb or chicken, but this paste is combined with all types of meat, as well as with some types of fish. So in Morocco, couscous is seasoned with saffron to give it a rich yellow tint and mixed with pieces of tuna in onion and raisin sauce. Couscous is also suitable for vegetarian dishes. In Algeria, it is often served with spicy ariza paste or pepper sauce, and in France, where the couscous got together with the legionnaires who returned from Africa, they like to serve this pasta with brie cheese and butter.
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