BBC - Radio 4 Woman's Hour -Cooking with couscous

How to prepare this classic North African dish

In the UK we tend to think of couscous as a convenient carbohydrate - just pour boiling water over it, leave to stand for a few minutes and you’re done. But elsewhere in the world, from the Middle East to Morocco to sub-Saharan Africa, couscous involves elaborate preparation, dressing with oil and water, and several stages of steaming in a specially designed couscoussière. Anissa Helou, a specialist in North African food, joins Jenni to demonstrate how to prepare this dish Maghreb-style, whilst the acclaimed food writer Jill Dupleix suggests ways to update this staple classic.

Jill Dupleix
Anissa Helou

Jill Dupleix’s couscous with orange, feta and mint

Serves 4

Couscous has become extremely popular outside its traditional uses because it is wonderfully light, absorbing the flavours it is with: so it is satisfying without being heavy. This juicy, citrussy, spicy, couscous salad spiked with orange, red onion, feta, herbs and almonds is typical of the ‘new’ couscous dishes. Serve it as a salad, a light lunch or with a simple grill of fish or chicken or spicy merguez sausages. Good things to add or substitute would include diced tomato, cucumber and pistachios. Just make sure the couscous absorbs the water and swells in size – otherwise it will expand in your stomach instead and feel heavy instead of light.
Note: Harissa is a spicy Tunisian chilli paste.

200 g instant couscous
half red onion, finely sliced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
400 ml boiling water
1 orange
100 g feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp black olives eg kalamata or nicoise
2 tbsp flaked almonds
3 tbsp picked parsley leaves
2 tbsp picked mint leaves
4 tbsp harissa
Dressing:
3 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and pepper

Toss the instant couscous with the onion, ginger, cumin, coriander, sea salt and pepper.
Cover with boiling water, stir through, cover and leave for 15 minutes.
Zest the orange (using a zester), then thickly peel and cut into small segments, discarding pith.
Fluff up the couscous with a fork.
Add orange juice and extra virgin olive oil and lightly toss. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Arrange on four plates and scatter with orange segments, orange zest, feta, black olives, flaked almonds, parsley and mint. Add a dollop of harissa and serve.

- - -

Anissa Helou's Couscous
Kseksu

Serves 4-6

Ideally you should have a couscoussière to steam couscous, although you can improvise with a normal steamer (if the holes are too big, line with a thin layer of muslin or cheesecloth). There is really no comparison between regular couscous and the pre-cooked ‘instant’ kind - regular couscous is much finer and has a slight crunch even when you reheat it - so always use regular couscous if you can.

500 g very fine or fine uncooked couscous
sea salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
30 g unsalted butter melted

1. Put the couscous in a shallow mixing bowl. Dissolve 1 teaspoon sea salt in 150 ml water and sprinkle over the couscous. Stir with your fingers, rubbing to separate the grain and break up any lumps. When the couscous has soaked up all the water, stir in the oil.
2. Put the couscous in the top of the couscoussière and set over the bottom part (filled with boiling water or the broth to be served with the couscous). No steam should escape from the bottom pan, so, if necessary, wrap a strip of cloth around the edge of the pan before slotting in the the steamer.top. Steam the couscous, covered, for 20 minutes
3. Tip the couscous into a bowl and sprinkle with a further 150 ml water. Add the melted butter and stir well with a wooden spoon. Leave for 15 minutes to fluff up.
4. Put the couscous back into the top part of the couscoussière and set over the pan of boiling liquid. Steam, uncovered, for a further 10-15 minutes (or the last 10-15 minutes of the cooking time of the broth). Tip the couscous into a large serving bowl. Taste and add more salt and butter if necessary, then arrange into a mound. Garnish according to the recipe you are using and serve.

Anissa Helou's Couscous with Monkfish
Kseksu bel Hut

Serves 4 to 6

This couscous is not that common in Morocco. Monkfish has a firm delicious flesh which is not that easy to overcook. You can use other types of fish such as conger eel or cod but remember to adjust the cooking time accordingly in the case of cod.

2 x 800 g Italian canned tomatoes
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Monfish tail weighing about 800 g, boned (keep the bone) and cut into 6 or 8 pieces
flour
3 medium onions thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
55 g flat-leaf parsley most of the bottom stalks discarded, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon crushed chillies, or to taste
sea salt
30 g butter
pinch saffron filaments crushed
500 g couscous
couscous dressing
a handful basil leaves
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1. Strain the tomatoes (reserve the juice for another use). Discard the seeds and chop coarsely.
2. Pour the olive oil in the bottom half of the couscoussière and place over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot dip the monkfish pieces in the flour and fry for 2 minutes on each side to seal them. Remove onto a plate and set aside.
3. Sauté the garlic and onions in the same oil over a medium-low heat, until lightly golden. Add the chopped tomatoes together with the fish bone if you have kept it, the thyme leaves, parsley, cumin, paprika and crushed chillies. Add 750 ml water and sea salt to taste. Bring to the boil, then add the butter and saffron.
4. Prepare the couscous as per above recipe and put it to steam over the sauce for 20 minutes. If you are using pre-cooked couscous don't prepare it until just before you need to add the fish to the sauce.
5. Take the couscous off the heat and add the water and butter as indicated in the separate recipe. Set aside. Carry on cooking the sauce, covered, for another 15 minutes, or until it becomes quite thick then reduce the heat to low and add the fish. Place the couscous over the sauce and steam for another 10-15 minutes, or until both fish and couscous are done.
6. In the meantime pound the basil leaves and a little sea salt in a mortar (If you don't have a mortar, chop the basil leaves very finely) then stir in the olive oil. Tip the couscous into a large shallow serving bowl and stir in the basil and oil mixture. Remove the fish steaks from the tomato sauce and arrange over the couscous. Spoon a little tomato sauce over the fish and serve immediately with more sauce on the side. You can spike the additional sauce with more crushed chillies if you like.

© Anissa Helou

Disclaimer
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites.

Retired? Downsizing? Moving home to be nearer the kids?