How to cook cous cous

                                                                               Receta en Español


Cous cous is name after several other names like Alcuzcuz, cuzcuz, cuscus...

The word comes from the berber term 'al kuskus' that  means the amount of food that a bird takes into its beak and kneads into little balls to feed its offspring.

It is a typical dish in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

There is a way to cook couscous . Today I present the way they do it at Maghreb:

Ingredients

• 250 grams couscous (medium size).
• 50 grams butter.

Method:

1. Place couscous in a large dish. Fill a glass with water and a pinch of salt. With the help of your hands take a litle quantity of water from the glass and rub the couscous, do the same again and again until the glass of water is empty ,grains of couscous should remain loose.
2.  Let stand for 15 minutes , this way it  will absorb the water.
3. Spread some olive oil in your hands , then rub couscous with your hands.
4. Put couscous in a couscoussier to steam it, in case you don't have one, you can use a casserole and a sieve like in the picture:
   
5. Put water in the casserole, place couscous on the sieve and boil over high heat. Once it reaches boiling point boil for 15 minutes.
6. Place couscous again in the large dish ,stirr to separate the grains of couscous.
7. Take another glass of water and procede as in step 1.
8. Then repeat all the steps again, twice or more times,until the couscous is cooked.
9. Now spread couscous in the large dish, add butter and stirr well.

Here you can see an example , how you can cook couscous. (In french) :

http://www.amourdecuisine.fr/article-comment-cuire-le-couscous-111575933.HTML

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools

Algeria

Goxua

                                                                               Receta en Español

Goxua means sweet, it is a typical basque dessert very popular in Vitoria, city where this dessert was invented in the seventies of the XX century.

Ingredients (4 people):

• 400 ml milk.
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch (maizena). 
• 5 tablespoon sugar.
• 1 piece lemon zest.
• 1 tablespoon butter.
• 2 eggs.
• 200 ml cream (35.1 % fat).
• 4 sponge fingers or chunks of  dried muffins.
• 1 tablespoon Water.
• 1 cup rhum.
• 1 vanilla pod or a teaspoon grinded vanilla.
• 1 cinnamon stick.

Method for custard:

1. Put in a casserole almost all milk together with cinnamon,vanilla and lemon zest. Cook on a medium heat.
2. Put cornstarch in a bowl and mix with the remaining milk, stir well until there are no lumps.
3. Now add 4 tablespoons sugar and eggs to the bowl, whisk.
4. Once the milk of the casserole has reached boiling point. Pour that milk into the bowl with the cornstarch,eggs and so.
5. Put the mix on a low heat, stir continuously with a wooden spoon , keep on cooking until the mix gets thick.
6. Add butter, stir well and let custard cool.

Syrup:

7. Take the remaining sugar and put it in another casserole with some water. Put it on low heat until sugar is well dissolved, at that point turn the heat to high until it reaches boiling point and then turn the heat off.
8. Add rhum to the casserole.

Method:

          9.    Whip cream, add sugar to taste.

10. Place the Whipped cream at the bottom of the cup where we are going to serve this dessert. (1 tablespoon and a half per cup).
    
11. Dip sponge fingers into the syrup, sponge fingers should be well hidratated with the syrup.
    
12. Put sponge fingers over the cream.
    
13. Put 2 spoonfull of custard over the sponge fingers.
14. Let it cool into the fridge. You can eat it warm or cool, as you prefer.
15. Make some caramel and pour 2 spoonsfull over the custard.

Caramel:

16. Put 100 grams sugar and 50 ml water in a saucepan, heat over medium heat. Stirr until sugar is well disolved. Once it happens, stop stirring to prevent it to crystallize.  
    The moment the caramel begins to turn light brown, turn the heat off. 
    The remaining heat in the saucepan will be enough to finish the cooking of the caramel. More details on how to do a perfect caramel:  Caramel

 Here you have the result:

Here you have a link to my favourite cooking tools where you can find my spices grinder:  

Favourite cooking tools



Alava