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Help! Mushy cous cous

Vintage Paw said:
Anyone got any delicious veggie cous-cous recipes? I've only tried cous-cous a couple of times, and neither was remarkably exciting. The first time Mr Paw seemed to get food poisoning from it (although I'm not sure how) and the second time, although quite nice, was a bit faffy (stuffed peppers). I can't be bothered with faffy when I'm a busy woman :mad:
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Voila. You will not be disappointed.
 
rutabowa said:
you could do the recipe that i said but drop the fish and add roasted vegetables... and maybe some dried fruit and make sure the spices etc are moroccanish. and maybe some toasted pine nuts
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Without the fruit probably, but actually it does sound quite lovely :)

lighterthief said:
Voila. You will not be disappointed.
Click to expand...

That sounds delicious! (Without the olives :mad:).

I haven't had Halloumi before - how does it rate on the lactose intolerance scale? (Mr Paw, not me - it's nice to be able to cook nice things for the both of us, instead of just for me you see.)
 
Vintage Paw said:
I haven't had Halloumi before - how does it rate on the lactose intolerance scale? (Mr Paw, not me - it's nice to be able to cook nice things for the both of us, instead of just for me you see.)
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No idea. It's cheese and it's made from milk. Does that help? :p

I can't believe you've never had halloumi! :eek:
 
The instructions on packets of cous cous always suggest way too much water - go easy on it.


VP - there's a great recipe for a veg tagine to go with couscous in the Cranks Bible - I ate it for my lunch all last week
 
lighterthief said:
No idea. It's cheese and it's made from milk. Does that help? :p

I can't believe you've never had halloumi! :eek:
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My life is so pedestrian :(

Orang Utan said:
The instructions on packets of cous cous always suggest way too much water - go easy on it.


VP - there's a great recipe for a veg tagine to go with couscous in the Cranks Bible - I ate it for my lunch all last week
Click to expand...

Nom! I've bought countless veg recipe books, but always passed up on a Crank's one. I take it they are good, yes?

I'm not good with fancy faffy food, quick and simple are my key words :p
 
Tis supposed to be the best - I've only bought it recently and have used it quite a few times already - the lasagne in it is amazing
I only have two veggie recipe books

Edit to add: the couscous recipe is dead easy but the lasagne is of course a faff due to its very nature - but learn to enjoy the faff, esp if you're a veggie
 
North Africans tend to eat with their hand, so having couscous that's fairly sticky makes sense. It's the same reason Chinese make their rice stickier than Europeans and North Americans prefer it-- it's easier to pick up with chopsticks that way. People raised on rice where each cooked grain is seperate from the rest will most likely project that onto couscous.

I think for most of the finer grades of couscous 1:1 pasta:stock makes a finished product that's a nice happy medium.
 
Orang Utan said:
Tis supposed to be the best - I've only bought it recently and have used it quite a few times already - the lasagne in it is amazing
I only have two veggie recipe books

Edit to add: the couscous recipe is dead easy but the lasagne is of course a faff due to its very nature - but learn to enjoy the faff, esp if you're a veggie
Click to expand...


I'll consider it for my next purchase then :) They are often a bit much of a muchness, all these books. But Crank's comes with a good rep I suppose.

And yeah, I suppose I should embrace the faff, but most of the time it's too much like hard work :p Plus, I hate my kitchen with a passion, so I want to be in and out quicker than the average shag.
 
Vintage Paw said:
Anyone got any delicious veggie cous-cous recipes? I've only tried cous-cous a couple of times, and neither was remarkably exciting. The first time Mr Paw seemed to get food poisoning from it (although I'm not sure how) and the second time, although quite nice, was a bit faffy (stuffed peppers). I can't be bothered with faffy when I'm a busy woman :mad:
Click to expand...
Just roast some veg in the oven. Peppers, onions, leeks whatever. Chop them coarsely and add to the cous cous. Serve with grated parmesan or Pecorino.
 
I made this recipe recently, and the couscous came out *just so* -170g couscous to 260ml stock/water, not boiled, just covered and left for 10mins.

Is some couscous pre-soaked or something? Sometimes you see it marked "easy cook" or whatever - I just buy cheap stuff from the local turkish shop.
 
So I made the Viola recipe and it was lush. Totally nom-tastic.

My exposure to couscous is limited, so I'm not really sure what the texture should be, but mine was sticky-ish and I felt that was perfect. I like my food to stay on my fork :p

Oh, and halloumi ftw :cool:
 
Honestly, I signed up seeking answers. I did not get far, but maybe some can feel my pain.
Here's what I do.
After discovering the dish and following the recipe while living on the the Mediterranean, somehow my wife has been making soggy couscous recently. Not sure why or how. But here is what I will tell her and others:

Honestly, it's like when your parents say you can have a chocolate bar... after it's been soaked and drained in vegetable oil then dipped in a saline solution, then scrubbed off with a wire brush, then more sticky solution is added (olive oil, vegetable oil, 20w oil from a snowblower, paste, Elmer's glue, stickers, it doesn't matter) then dipped again in saline solution. That's what over-watered couscous means to me.

I used to love it but I visited this thread to help me re-cook the dish, after-the-fact. Is that possible? Can you FIX couscous?
I do not know. Certainly there are expert couscous chefs who have encountered the error and corrected successfully.
I'd like to hear from you.
In the meantime, I came up with some steps.
Obviously, use less water, but if you love couscous and need to refurbish it yourself, here's what I do/did (Experts please criticize):
  1. Plot with paper towels or another absorbent material.
  2. Do it again.
  3. And again.
  4. Put it on a stovetop. In medium heat, keep stirring. Nothing needs to be cooked here, the idea is to get the moisture out.
  5. After 5-10min, Turn the heat off, stir and fluff. Stir and fluff.
  6. If you did it right, the vessel you 're-cooked' the couscous in will need a good cleaning... so put it under water immediately.
  7. Scrub the vessel with vigor. Cleanse and dry. Return to original position in kitchen such that it's identical to the originating chef's position.
  8. In another bowl with the dehydrated couscous, fluff again with a fork.
  9. Take a spatula or large wooden spoon and brush the couscous over and over. You are Bob Ross. At dinner time. Keep the palette going.
  10. Now dry, some seasoning is lost. Add desired seasoning (Sea Salt, pepper, whatever it takes)
  11. Dish the couscous and clean the intermediary bowl.
  12. Sit down. Enjoy fluffy couscous.
Total Time to refurbish and clean: ~ 35 minutes.
Total Time to originally make light and fluffy couscous: 5 min.

Proceed with caution.
Work in silence.
Get fluffy couscous.

Enjoy.
 
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I feel like Bob Ross wouldn't fix couscous he'd just say it was a happy accident.
Maybe too many steps there but generally if it works for you :thumbs:
 
I do 250g couscous to approx 320/330ml boiling water.

I always fry off some chilli/garlic in oil first in a large gallon-capacity pan, then add the dry couscous to the pan off the heat, and stir to coat the grains. Add the water and put the lid on for five minutes or when I remember. Stir it to break it up a bit and heat gently for a bit. And chuck in whatever other ingredients I'm using at whatever point I feel like. Works every time for me.

If I'm adding spinach to it, I reduce the amount of boiling water I use - no matter how much you squeeze microwaved frozen spinach it still contains a fair bit of water.
 
VV88 said:
Honestly, I signed up seeking answers. I did not get far, but maybe some can feel my pain.
Here's what I do.
After discovering the dish and following the recipe while living on the the Mediterranean, somehow my wife has been making soggy couscous recently. Not sure why or how. But here is what I will tell her and others:

Honestly, it's like when your parents say you can have a chocolate bar... after it's been soaked and drained in vegetable oil then dipped in a saline solution, then scrubbed off with a wire brush, then more sticky solution is added (olive oil, vegetable oil, 20w oil from a snowblower, paste, Elmer's glue, stickers, it doesn't matter) then dipped again in saline solution. That's what over-watered couscous means to me.

I used to love it but I visited this thread to help me re-cook the dish, after-the-fact. Is that possible? Can you FIX couscous?
I do not know. Certainly there are expert couscous chefs who have encountered the error and corrected successfully.
I'd like to hear from you.
In the meantime, I came up with some steps.
Obviously, use less water, but if you love couscous and need to refurbish it yourself, here's what I do/did (Experts please criticize):
  1. Plot with paper towels or another absorbent material.
  2. Do it again.
  3. And again.
  4. Put it on a stovetop. In medium heat, keep stirring. Nothing needs to be cooked here, the idea is to get the moisture out.
  5. After 5-10min, Turn the heat off, stir and fluff. Stir and fluff.
  6. If you did it right, the vessel you 're-cooked' the couscous in will need a good cleaning... so put it under water immediately.
  7. Scrub the vessel with vigor. Cleanse and dry. Return to original position in kitchen such that it's identical to the originating chef's position.
  8. In another bowl with the dehydrated couscous, fluff again with a fork.
  9. Take a spatula or large wooden spoon and brush the couscous over and over. You are Bob Ross. At dinner time. Keep the palette going.
  10. Now dry, some seasoning is lost. Add desired seasoning (Sea Salt, pepper, whatever it takes)
  11. Dish the couscous and clean the intermediary bowl.
  12. Sit down. Enjoy fluffy couscous.
Total Time to refurbish and clean: ~ 35 minutes.
Total Time to originally make light and fluffy couscous: 5 min.

Proceed with caution.
Work in silence.
Get fluffy couscous.

Enjoy.
Click to expand...

Just admit it, you're firky.

Seriously though is this like the best first post ever?

I make couscous in a similar way sometimes, I roast a chicken and then after the chicken is cooked i put the pan on the hob under a low heat, add stock and butter and couscous, in ten minutes you have amazingly tasty couscous.
 
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I have couscous quite often these days. It's my dead quick no fuss meal. I have no idea if I make it right or not, but I like it so whatever.

Bung some couscous in a bowl.
Lob in a bit of butter, a shake of ground cumin, a dusting of cayenne pepper, a bit of mint.
Boil the kettle. Squirt some tomato puree in a jug, add some garlic. Pour over the water, and stir until it makes a tomatoey water.
Add the water to the couscous. Stir. Cover until it's all soaked up.
Halloumi.

Measurements all done by eye. Texture of couscous variable depending on the skill of my eyeballs.
 
dessiato said:
Have you tried steaming it? That seems to work well for my wife when she cooks it. It's so cheap (here) that we would throw it away rather than mess about trying to recover it
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Yes, definitely steam! Weigh out your cous cous and add boiling water (4 parts cous cous to 3 parts water), a little butter and salt. Leave for ~10 minutes to soak, then 'fork it up' a bit and put in a steamer lined with baking paper and cook. Shouldn't take long, maybe 10 minutes. Will be light, fluffy and hot when ready. :)

Serve with some juicy grilled veg (tomatoes, peppers, etc), or maybe other veg with a spicy tomato sauce. Or any meat which has a bit of juice.
 
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Vintage Paw said:
Anyone got any delicious veggie cous-cous recipes? I've only tried cous-cous a couple of times, and neither was remarkably exciting. The first time Mr Paw seemed to get food poisoning from it (although I'm not sure how) and the second time, although quite nice, was a bit faffy (stuffed peppers). I can't be bothered with faffy when I'm a busy woman :mad:
Click to expand...
We had some with, uh.... kale, lemon, roasted sweet potato (or butternut?), and oven-dried / roasted tomatoes a while back. Which was good enough for me to've imitated several times since.
 
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