Mary margaret mcbride encyclopedia of cooking

Couscous is the granular semolina used in North African cooking and also the name of the elaborate, almost ceremonial dish of meats and vegetables made with it.

Platters of the latter are served primarily in the few Moroccan restaurants around the country; however, couscous served as a grain has become a familiar component of dishes in all kinds of operations.

Though couscous can be made simply by soaking the little, pastalike grains in hot liquid, it is prepared classically in several steps, starting with the soaking but also including raking, cooling and steaming to maximize the volume of the mixture.

Few chefs bother with all that. And unless