How to Cook Couscous

If you have grown bored of pasta, you may want to spice up your entree with couscous. Couscous, which consists of spherical granules made from semolina wheat, is known by some historians to date back to the 10th century. Today couscous is a staple in the Maghreb, which is a region in Africa, north of the Sahara. While there are many variations to explore when cooking couscous, a simple style is a good place to start.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Uncooked cousous
• Cup measure
• Salt
• Bowl
• Water
• Fork
• Dish towel
• Saucepan

1. Gather the ingredients you will need to cook your couscous: a saucepan, bowl, cup measure, couscous, 1 1/4 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a dish towel.

2. Measure out 1 1/4 cups of water and then add the water and salt to a saucepan.

3. Heat the water until it is boiling.

4. Place the boiling water and couscous together in a bowl.

5. Stir the ingredients together.

6. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it sit for 5 minutes.

7. Remove the dish towel and then fluff the couscous with a fork.

Tips & Warnings

• You can add butter, vegetable oil or pepper to your water before boiling. Use vegetable or chicken stock instead of water for a more flavorful dish. For more variation, experiment with adding various spices and scallions, or top off your dish with some pecans.

• Serve your couscous as a complement to chicken or fish.

• You can serve couscous hot or cold.