Couscous

[Carlovski]

Best advice I ever had was to never read the instructions on any packs of couscous. The ones in the UK always involve something like boiling for 10 minutes iun a saucepan - so you end up with a horrible stodgy sticky mess.

That recipe sounds quite similar.

[orangeblossom]

hmmmm... i've never come across a recipe calling for the couscous to be boiled first. Strange.

Anyway, when i make couscous, especially when making for friends who'ver never, or seldom, eat it, I use good homemade chicken stock. My all-time favourite is using roast chicken stock. I usually freeze my roast chicken carcasses/bones and when i feel like it, make the stock and freeze it, so there's usually a supply available.

[merstar]

Have you ever tried whole wheat couscous? I prefer it over the white, but I've never experienced a stale taste from either. I agree with the others - I never boil couscous. The simplest way to make it is to boil 1 1/2 cups salted water or broth for every cup of couscous (some people add a little butter to the liquid). Once the water boils, remove from the heat and stir in the couscous. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

[Behemoth]

It's a pain in the ass, but steaming couscous over the stew is really the only way to go. It makes such a huge difference in both the flavor and texture that I just can't go back to any other method.