Despite the belief and deceptive appearance prevailing among a certain part of people, couscous is not a type of cereal. It is a type of pasta made by mixing semolina and wheat flour.
What is couscous made of?
Couscous or couscous is a popular pasta in Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Maghreb cuisine, which is 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 by so-called coarse or varietal grinding. This is how wheat grains are ground for semolina, in common parlance semolina. Housewives in North Africa initially prepared couscous by long grinding semolina, lightly sprinkled with salt water and sprinkled with flour, between their palms, achieving the formation of small lumps, similar to grains. Later, the couscous was prepared by grinding the wet mass through a fine mesh sieve. The last stage in the preparation of couscous is drying. This creates a fine paste suitable for relatively long cooking.
In stores, instant couscous is most often sold, this is a product that is pre-steamed and then dried. It is brought to final readiness by just adding a little boiling water and holding it under the lid or bringing it 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 a paste, it is closer to rice in its gastronomic qualities. Just like this cereal, it is rich in complex carbohydrates, has a delicate taste, but at the same time 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 tastes just as good as seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and mint.
A distinction is made between the larger pearl or Israeli couscous and the smaller Libyan or Lebanese couscous. It is also believed that hand-made homemade couscous is much tastier than factory-made couscous.
Most often, couscous is served as a side dish for lamb, lamb or chicken, but this pasta 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 hue and mixed with pieces of tuna in an onion and raisin sauce. Couscous is also suitable for vegetarian dishes. In Algeria, it is often served with spicy arisa paste or pepper sauce, and in France, where the couscous came along with the legionnaires who returned from Africa, they like to serve this pasta with brie cheese and butter.
