Tag: couscous

Does couscous make you fat? Good news! – Italian Cuisine

Does couscous make you fat? Good news!


Does couscous make you fat? How many calories does a plate of couscous contain? Is couscous good for your health? We identify the nutritional profile of this food with North African origins that has become part of Italian cuisine and beyond

The cous cous is a unique dish with North African roots, historically also arrived in Italy through sailors' journeys, thus becoming part of Sicilian cuisine (cùscusu, Trapani-style couscous) and not only. It is the fundamental food of the Berber culture, spread from Morocco to Algeria, from Tunisia and from Mauritania to Libya. Traditionally it is made with the durum wheat flour coarsely ground, but can also be found with millet.

The couscous is accompanied with stewed meat and boiled vegetables, even with fish and perhaps with a spicy touch of Harissa, and is perfect for a convivial lunch with friends. The variations of the couscous are many because it lends itself well to various interpretations; even as a quick lunch break thanks to pre-cooked preparations. But the good news hasn't ended here. We also have answers to the questions you (perhaps) have placed before the steaming dish: does couscous make you fat? How much it is calories It contains? Is good for health?

The good news

The nutritional profile of couscous is positive in several aspects, which makes it admit to the YES category even when on a diet. Always carefully, of course.

From the caloric point of view, the couscous without seasoning has few calories: every 100 grams equals about 110/150 calories. A nice surprise since generally the same amount of durum wheat pasta also involves twice the calories! Furthermore, since the preparation involves the absorption of a quantity of water during cooking, the couscous confers a sense of satiety important that you could play to your advantage in case of hypocaloric diet.

The positive aspects do not end there: the cous cous also contains a good dose of dietary fiber for a value of 2.2 grams per 100 grams of product. Accompanied by boiled vegetables, it immediately becomes the ideal dish to help the intestine. Not only that, it is good for health because does not contain cholesterol, has a low amount of fat and about 3.6 grams of protein per 100. The same 100-gram portion represents half the recommended daily requirement of selenium, beneficial for our body.

What to watch out for

With such an optimal value card, the couscous seems to be the ideal dish, but the pitfalls are hidden in the dish itself. In fact, it is al seasoning that care must be taken; a bit like with pasta. Accompany with little lean meat like the traditional lamb or flavor with very rich broth leads to excessively enriching a basic recipe with little calories.

Not only salty: couscous can also be used to prepare traditional desserts that involve the use of butter, sugar, cinnamon, honey, raisins or dates: all hyper caloric ingredients which are added to each other. As much as one Maghrood Libyan is delicious, it is better not to overdo it if you do not want to risk gaining weight.

Cherry and feta couscous salad – Italian Cuisine

»Cherry and feta couscous salad


First prepare the couscous: put it on a plate, add twice the weight in hot water, add salt, stir, cover with another dish turned upside down and let the water be absorbed (it will take 5-10 minutes).

Meanwhile, lightly toast the hazelnuts in a non-stick pan and chop coarsely.
Peel and grate the ginger and mix it with the lemon peel, then wash and pitted the cherries.

Put the rocket washed with hazelnuts and cherries in a bowl.
Shell the couscous with a fork and add it to the rest, then add ginger and lemon and the chopped feta.
Season with oil and season with salt and pepper.

The couscous cherry and feta salad is ready, stir gently and serve.

Couscous with lentils, borage and nettles – Italian Cuisine

Couscous with lentils, borage and nettles


Couscous with lentils, borage and nettles is a tasty and fragrant lemon-flavored vegetarian dish, very easy and quick to make. Borage and nettle are two v …

Couscous with lentils, borage and nettles is a tasty and fragrant lemon-flavored vegetarian dish, very easy and quick to make. Borage and nettle are two spontaneous vegetables that, besides being healthy for our well-being, are also tasty!

Couscous with lentils, borage and nettles is a tasty and fragrant lemon-flavored vegetarian dish, very easy and quick to make. Borage and nettle are two spontaneous vegetables that, besides being healthy for our well-being, are also tasty!

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Nature offers us precious resources, which we often do not know, to prepare unusual but tasty, nutritious and healthy recipes. Among the endless edible wild herbs, nettles and borage are among the best known in the kitchen and give us rustic, unique and unparalleled flavors. The Couscous with lentils, borage and salt & pepper nettles it is a proof! It is a simple and inexpensive dish of great choreographic effect, thanks to the beautiful purple flowers of borage that stand out on the plate.

The couscous with lentils, borage and nettles it has strong but well balanced flavors, the delicate but pungent one of nettle contrasts with the more bitter one of borage, all tasteless with a grating of lemon peel

Like all recipes with many vegetables, even for the couscous with lentils, borage and nettles you have to waste some time to clean them and cut the vegetables but then the cooking will be fast and the taste so delicious that it will reward you for the effort and time spent in the kitchen!

The couscous with lentils, borage and salt & pepper nettles it is a hymn to spring and the scents of the Mediterranean: a special dish that you cannot miss and your vegan friends will surprise you at the table!

How to prepare couscous with lentils, borage and nettles

1) Prepare the ingredients. Cook the quick-cooking couscous as indicated on the package. When the grains are well swollen, grind the couscous with a fork and keep aside and let it cool. Set aside the flower tops of the borage to add the fresh flowers directly to the plate when it is ready.

3) Lava nettles is borage, cut them into small pieces and make them jump cooking pan With the'pink garlic crushed and 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for 5-6 minutes, adding some water if necessary. Join the small lentils (or of Castelluccio) boil, rule of salt and of pepper and let it flavor for a few moments. Remove the garlic, remove the vegetables from the heat and keep them aside.

2) Complete and serve couscous with lentils. In another fairly large non-stick pan, heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Then pour the couscous, Mix 1 minute and then add the herbs with the lentils. Leave to flavor for 2 minutes then serve the couscous with lentils, borage and nettles warm or warm, garnishing it with a drizzle of raw oil, with borage flowers and with untreated lemon peel julienne cut.

Tips

1) Borage is not stinging like nettle, but it is still annoying to handle it without gloves because it is covered everywhere with a thorny hair. Salt and pepper therefore, you are advised to use rubber kitchen gloves at every stage of processing both herbs, harvesting, washing, cleaning and cutting. Then, locate your herbs and collect a nice envelope of each. Isolate the leaves from the stems, wash them well and then dry them using a salad centrifuge.

2) For the couscous with lentils, borage and nettles, Salt & Pepper preferred to use small lentils already boiled. Nothing, however, forbids you to use for example half classic and half red lentils, or use only one type of the latter. If you use both, less lexical, the red ones take a lot less than the others.

3) For cooking vegetables, remember to use one large pan because at the beginning the herbs will be very voluminous, then they will wither slowly with cooking.

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