Feel like a perfect couscous? There are 6 things to know – Italian Cuisine

What we know as cous cous it is, in fact, a grain obtained from the processing of durum wheat flour and steam cooked, usually served with meat, vegetables, legumes, sometimes fish or dried fruit. Widespread in the Maghreb and throughout the Mediterranean basin, it is very popular in West Africa and the Near East – in Israel as in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. It is loved in France and Belgium, it is found in Spain and is also part of the Italian gastronomic tradition: in particular of Sicily, in the Trapani area, and Sardinia, in Carloforte.

177094 In Italy it is found in some pages of gastronomic literature since the sixteenth century and the cooking technique and the way of serving seem to have remained unchanged. And not by chance in the Trapani area, a San Vito Lo Capo, will be held very soon on Cous Cous Fest, a tribute to the tradition of Trapani, who wants it strictly with fish. Whether it is a legacy of Arab domination or an original reworking, it does not matter: couscous is now also part of Italian cuisine. In this adorable location full of Arab-Norman architectural references, the twenty-second edition of a festival celebrating food that will take place from September 20th to 29th will be held. has many features in common with the ancestor of Italian pasta, not least that of being an adequate response to the need for preservation of cereals even after a long period of storage (need for all the populations that had the need to face long journeys at sea). During the event there will also be a competition that will bring together chefs from all over Italy who try their hand at preparing recipes based on couscous. The scouting chef is promoted by Bia CousCous, the leading company in Europe for the production and marketing of couscous, main sponsor of the Cous Cous Fest.

The traditional procedure wants the semolina to come worked by rubbing with a little water until you get tiny balls; the grain obtained is then sieved to select the desired size. There are three types of couscous, depending on the diameter of the balls: the medium, the most common, lends itself to all recipes; the finest is used for desserts; the largest is not widespread. The fresh couscous is then steamed, dried and packaged.

In medio stat virtus

The medium couscous it is definitely the most versatile: it goes well with meat, fish, vegetables; it is excellent as a base for cold or warm salads, for light meatballs, for flans, even savory muffins.

The traditional pairing is with stewed meat – mutton or chicken according to the North African tradition – or with fish and shellfish according to the Sicilian and Spanish; there is also a spicy sauce such as harissa (a sauce made with red pepper, chilli, garlic, cumin and mint) and lots of vegetables and legumes, especially chickpeas.

With dried fruit, spices, sugar and honey it is a base of unusual and delicious desserts.

A special pot?

Let's talk about the couscoussiera – called taseksut in Berber – the special pot used for steaming non-precooked couscous: it is equipped with a hole basket and a lid (found in the most supplied housewares). Put the couscous in the couscous sauce and steam it in 2-3 times. Alternatively, you can use a large high-sided saucepan and a metal colander to enter the saucepan: in this case, you will need to seal the two pans well before couscous is cooked with a damp cotton cloth.

Traditionally the couscous should be steamed two or three times, but do not worry, it is fine precooked couscous, faster and easier to prepare – it has already been cooked for the first time and then dried.

Just put it in a baking dish, bring to a boil some liquid (broth, flavored water, etc.), pour it over, cover everything with a cloth and let the grains swell for a few minutes. To avoid overcooked or too raw couscous, the liquid / couscous percentages are 1 to 1.

But watch out for these wrong moves!

1_ No tap water! Do not use running water to prepare it, but vegetable broth light.
If you don't have it handy, you can create aflavored water adding toasted natural boiling water, toasted star anise, crushed garlic, a piece of fresh peeled ginger and / or 1/2 onion; set of salt.
If you use the pot, use this water to steam couscous, or leave it in infusion 10 minutes and strain it before pouring it over the precooked couscous.

2_Mai, never boil it in water as you do with pasta and cereals! Season the cooked couscous in the pan with a little oil and then pour the boiling liquid over it. Respect the proportion 1 to 1: the liquid must cover the couscous flush, do not submerge it.

3_Never mix the couscous in the absorption phase. Allow the liquid to absorb and cover the couscous container with a cloth. Once well swollen, first shell it with a fork; once warm, work it with your hands to shell it: i grains I must all be well separated. You can spread it on a dry towel to wipe it well with your fingers.

4_ Do not overdo it with oil. Once well shelled, add a drizzle of oil to your still – just a thread, it must not be too greasy – and then season the couscous according to your recipe or fantasy.

5_Non never salt the grains. In the case of a savory dish, season with salt the liquid you use or the seasoning, meat and / or vegetables or legumes that you will mix with couscous.

6_Never serve it cold! If it is not hot or lukewarm, the couscous should be maximum at room temperature. The cold facilitates the cohesion of the grains and the formation of lumps.

Choose the right recipe for you, avoid these "crimes" against couscous and enjoy a tasty and delicious single dish.

Francesca Tagliabue
June 2017
updated by Emanuela Di Pasqua
July 2019

Image Credits:
Cous Cous Fest Press Office

How to prepare 5 greedy skewers – Italian Cuisine

The skewers are an inviting and easy idea to make an aperitif or a dinner with friends more tasty

Do you know how to give an extra touch to a dinner? Preparing as many appetizers delicious kebabs, with fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, all fresh and tasty ingredients, perfect to be enjoyed at a buffet in an evening with friends. They can be filled in many ways, they are quick to make and always welcome. There you can prepare vegetables for a vegan dinner, or with vegetables and fish, or with cheese and meat, for all tastes.

Scallops and grapefruit

First clean the scallops, rinse them and remove the sand well. Remove the coral and keep only the walnut. Separately peel a grapefruit and cut the peel into strips that you will make into a syrup of water and sugar. When the skins are candied, skewer them on a skewer alternating them with the scallop nuts. Put the skewers on a grill and let them brown. Garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a peeled grapefruit slice.

Swordfish, aubergines, mint and tomatoes

You can prepare this skewer with fried or grilled aubergines, for a lighter version. Cut the aubergines into squares, with the peel, and place them in a colander with a handful of coarse salt, so that they lose water. Leave them there for about 30 minutes and then rinse them thoroughly. If you prefer, you can fry them separately in plenty of peanut oil and then dry them with kitchen paper. Otherwise, place a piece of swordfish on each spit, a square of eggplant, a leaf of mint and a cherry tomato cut in half. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, grease with a little oil and cook on the grill until all the ingredients are well cooked. Serve hot.

Pear and pecorino cheese

A fresh and light snack: take a pear, better than the Abate quality, cut it into small pieces and pass it in the sweet paprika. Cut a Tuscan pecorino into squares and pierce a piece of pear, one of pecorino and one of pear. Serve with a jam of cedar and ginger, they will be snapped up.

Pork and pineapple

A pairing, the one with the anans, which could go well with white meat, turkey or chicken. First put 50 g of vinegar in a saucepan with 70 g of sugar. Reduce this sauce and set aside. Now cut the pork into small pieces (a thin, whole fillet should be perfectly cut into pieces), put one piece at a time on a spit and add pineapple cut into pieces. Season the skewers with salt and a pinch of pepper, place them on a hot grill and when they are ready brush them with the sweet and sour sauce and serve.

Tomatoes, bresaola and cheese

Quick to prepare, this skewer can be filled with a soft cheese, such as goat's cheese, or a harder paste, such as scamorza. Place thin slices of scamorza cheese on the slices of bresaola, roll them on themselves and then cut them into rolls. Spread the bresaola rolls on the skewer, alternating with cherry tomatoes cut in half, salted, peppered and served.

Here are other ideas cooked and photographed in the editorial office

100% ITALIAN ON THE LABEL. FIRST ITALIANS – Italian Cuisine

They are the numbers 1, at least for the breadth of the offer: in fact, they are beyond 18 thousand products food and beverages that highlight theirs on the packaging 'Italian'. This was revealed by the Observatory. I imagine it has caught and deepened this phenomenon, which is growing rapidly. Between tricolor flags and claim as "100% Italian", Dop stamps and Docg, the menu is complete and ranges from pasta to canned tomato, from wine to cheese, from cold cuts to biscuits. Consumers like it, so much so that Italianness is one of the most appreciated and determining requirements when it comes to choosing what to bring to the table. But why the "made in Italy" do you like it so much? For many reasons. "It is not so much a question of nationalism – reads a survey conducted by Altroconsumo – but of trust: in the rules that protect us, in the authorities that control, in the quality they offer products of our lands. Or, at other times, it is distrust in what comes from beyond the border and that we know less ”. This is why many companies, large and small, have begun to report their Italian matrix on product packaging and advertising. The examples are a lot different: there are those who have chosen to use only or above all ingredients Italians, those who produce in Italian plants and those who adopt typical recipes and traditional, which should ensure an Italian taste. Not everything, however, is clear and striking as it seems.

BEYOND THE SLOGAN ON THE LABEL
Altroconsumo wanted to check how it is reported the origin of foods on the labels of the most common food products. In many cases it is compulsory (and in this Italy is more severe than the rest of the EU), in others it is optional and voluntary. In recent years the number of alimony which must clearly indicate where it has come from: fruit, vegetables, milk and derivatives, extra virgin olive oil of olive, meat, tomato preserves, fish products, eggs, pasta, rice, and honey. And go look for it on the label or on the signs of the products sold bulk reserve of surprises. One can, for example, discover that the chain distributive which looks like paladin actually Made in Italy buys a lot of fruit and vegetables abroad. Or that the famous brand of honey Italian actually mixes honey import. Or that the company of jams that recalls tradition regionalactually uses fruit bought abroad. It is not a question of quality or safety, since every raw material coming from abroad must respect the rules imposed by the community rules. And that, however, the origin of a food does not necessarily guarantee the goodness. But it is a problem of transparency and "honesty”, Which can affect trust in a brand or a sign commercial.

"100% ITALIAN": CIOE ’?
A winning claim, which in 2018 has grown considerably both in terms of number of products involved (more than 4 thousand food products that can be purchased at the supermarket) and per ride business. It worked well especially on ice cream, snacks, frozen vegetables, poultry meats and cured meat cold cuts. But we need to make some distinctions. There are products where the sentence "100% Italian" refers to the whole food. Usually these are mono-ingredient products, such as the milk, extra virgin olive oil, pasta, the salt, the butter, it sugar, olives in brine, natural meats and preserves from tomato (especially the peeled). In many of these products, however, to signal the origin of the ingredients on the label is mandatory. But there are cases where to be "100% Italian" is just one of the ingredients, and it is not necessarily the most important one either significant: for example the sugar with which the biscuits were prepared, the milk used in the ice creams or the ham with which the sandwiches are stuffed.

ALWAYS LESS "PRODUCT IN ITALY"
It is not a good sign for the national economy to discover that, during the course of the 2018, this indication has disappeared from 2.6% of the food products that can be purchased at supermarket. It was, in particular, biscuits, pasta, mozzarella and pasta dishes ready. Evidently, the appeal to the imports and some productions have been located abroad. However, over 7 thousand foods and drinks remain packaged which continue to be implemented in Italian factories.

A TRICOLOR FLAG AND STREET
It is the most immediate sign of Italianness. And indeed the tricolor it is also the most used symbol on packs of food products that present themselves as Italian. Today it is found on over 10 thousand products sold in the supermarkets: from eggs to ice creams, from milk bread substitutes UHT, from frozen foods to cold cuts, from snacks to jams. However, in reality, it can mean everything and nothing: not being regulated by law, can also be used casually (as often happens abroad), even just to accompany a product made in the Italian manner or that see a taste, a recipe or an Italian specialty. Even in this case, therefore, it is better not to stop image of the flag but looking for more precise information on its label meaning.

Manuela Soressi
July 2019

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