Couscous is an amazing side dish, pretty much the easiest one to prepare. Even with zero cooking knowledge, you can serve fluffy couscous, a favorite of many, in literally 10 minutes. Here’s how to cook couscous the easy, foolproof way.
What You Will Need to Prepare Couscous
You will only need a large bowl, couscous, some salt, extra virgin olive oil, and some hot water to prepare perfect couscous. And even the salt and olive oil are basically optional.
Some recipes suggest using broth or stock instead of water. I think if you want to serve your couscous as a side dish, you don’t need the added flavor profile from the broth. But if you want to make a complete North African dish by adding other ingredients, such as stewed vegetables and/or meat, cooking your couscous in chicken or vegetable stock will definitely kick this dish up a notch.
How to Cook Couscous
The truth is, you don’t really need to “cook” couscous. You just need to pour hot water over your couscous and let it absorb it. In fact, it is so easy to prepare perfect couscous that a kid can make it easily.
The equation is also simple: you need a 1:1 ratio of couscous to hot water. Just pour the hot water over your couscous, stir, and cover with plastic wrap, and in 5-10 minutes, your perfect fluffy Northwest African side dish is ready to serve.
Couscous
Ingredients
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 cup water hot
- 1 tsp olive oil extra virgin
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place couscous in a bowl. Add salt and olive oil.
- Pour hot water over couscous. Stir with a spoon.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 4-5 minutes.
- Fluff the couscous up with a fork. Serve immediately.
