I have not met a food that doesn’t benefit from a bed of Couscous underneath of it. I make this stuff ALL THE TIME, and it still amazes me how many people have never heard of it or noticed it in their grocery store. It’s available everywhere!
Something a little more tricky is being able to find it in bulk. I got mine in Cincinnati at Jungle Jim’s.
Couscous is already a pretty cheap item, as most ethnic staple foods are, but if you can find it in bulk you’ll really save some money inserting this stuff into your meal rotations. Not only is it inexpensive, it’s a perfect comfort food. Couscous is highly popular in Morocco and Libya, as well as many other countries for it’s unsurpassed SOPABILITY. Okay, I just made that word up.
But Couscous IS PERFECT for sopping up all things saucy. It’s easy to make it great, but it’s also easy to make it gummy or gritty. Here’s the method of how to make it perfect…by my standards anyway.
Let’s make some perfect Couscous.
We’ll begin by pouring a cup of dry Couscous into a casserole dish.
The reason we’re putting the Couscous into a casserole dish is because we can achieve more surface area that way. This means that while the Couscous is cooking, it won’t get squished down by the weight of more and more Couscous on top of it. Do you know what I mean, Vern?
Couscous by itself isn’t very exciting, but it plays well with others. Numerous spice combinations and seasonings work well with it. Today, I’m making enough for 4 people and I’m giving it a little bit of an Eastern flavor. You can try whatever you wish though. Mine goes as follows:
1 Cup of Couscous
1 Cup of Water - Brought to a Boil
2 Tablespoons of Butter
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Ground Curry
1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
Add all the ingredients to the Couscous while you bring the water to a boil. Since we’re using 1 cup of Couscous…we’ll need 1 cup of water. It’s a 1 to 1 ratio. Once boiling, pour water over the goods.
Give it all a quick stir and then cover it with plastic wrap for 5 minutes. Seal those edges!
After the 5 minutes under the plastic wrap, take a fork and gently drag it back and fourth like a caring little Couscous farmer to fluff your Couscous into a nice, airy texture.
Mmm…fluffy.
Perfectly cooked Couscous is a perfect side-item.
Feel free to top your Couscous with any sauces, stews, or anything else you can think of. I really like to top my Couscous with a big, juicy Ribeye…score!!
20 Comments
I love couscous. My oldest daughter also loved it when she was little. I still remember one day when she was about 2, she ate couscous for lunch. Since she wasn’t a very neat eater, she ended up with couscous stuck all over her purple cable knit tights! Not an easy thing to clean up
Love Jungle Jim’s!
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Oh man I have a great recipe for a cold couscous salad that is not only delicious and gets tons of raves but it is also vegan! I’ll try to remember to email it to you later!!
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Hmm… this is a great tutorial! (and I agree about couscous’ sopabilitiness) Thanks (for this and all of your food week posts)!! I’m going to try this later this week with our slow cooked pot roast!
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Couscous is a staple in my house too. But another one that I’ve been turned on to lately is bulgur wheat. It’s good stuff. Cooks up just like couscous but has a bigger grain and a different texture.
You should check it out.
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Couscous sounds SO good right now. Just as a side, nothing fancy with it.
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I have never made couscous…I think it is the name of it….I like it, I even bought some and still haven’t made it, you made it look so easy, I will give it a try….thanks for the recipe!
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I had some Couscous at an African restaurant a while back–YUM! I have some in my pantry right now…I can’t wait to cook it up! Thanks!
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I just planned the menu for the week and had to change sides for one day to keep from putting couscous on it twice. We love the stuff! (But my picky eaters like variety a little more.) Funny to sit down to catch up on blogs and find this post. I’ve made it the way you mention a few times, but use olive oil instead of butter and didn’t use the ginger. It was good, but seemed like there was something missing - that must be it! I’ll have to add those instead and see what happens. Thanks for the ideas!
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Love couscous! I make mine in my microwavable pot. I usually add a little olive oil to the water to prevent sticking and then I USED to add the best spice combo ever invented…McCormick’s Mediterranean Sea salt but they don’t make it anymore (which completely sucks!) so sometimes what I do instead is add a couple of tablespoons of italian dressing instead of the olive oil. It’s good but not as good as before. *stupid McCormick spice people*
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Looks delish!
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My parents lived in Libya for a few years while my dad was in the Air Force so i’ve known couscous most of my life. However, it always is a bit gritty when i make it. I love the idea of using the larger dish for more surface area; i’ll try that next time. Thanks.
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looks delicious…
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ahh the Ernest movies. Classic.
Thanks for all the tutorials.
Now I hafta buy me some couscous!
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I never ever have good luck with the one to one ratio with couscous. I always have to add more water. The easiest “pasta” salad is dump a bottle of good Italian dressing over couscous, in a tupperware or other lidded flatish dish, stir, and let sit overnight. Add whatever chopped veggies you have on hand and go. yum.
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I am really enjoying all of these cooking tips. It was just the other day …I was wondering, has Pastor Ryan stopped cooking? It was like you heard me. Know what I mean Vern?
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Can you give us cooking tips for that ribeye? YUM!
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You’ve been making my tummy growl all week. I dreamed about bacon last night.
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When with my first husband, a vegan, I made an excellent stuffed butternut squash recipe, with chickpeas and sweet potatoes, and couscous. It was his Thanksgiving “turkey.” Talking about couscous makes me want to make that dish again. Yum!
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That’s really smart! I always find that the couscous on the bottome of the pot is mushier. I’m going to try this idea. I cheat and buy Near East Toasted Pine Nut Couscous. If I could figure out what’s in that flavor packet I’d be able to buy it in bulk and make it myself. Do you have any clue?
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#14, Kathleen- Do you cook your cuscous first before you put in the salad? I would love to see your recipe.
Pastor Ryan- I’m so happy to see your tutorials!!!!
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