Wonderful couscousierre
I bought this along with the Moroccan Moroccan Modern cookbook and followed the cous cous recipe exactly. The cous cous was light and fluffy and did not clump even after it cooled. Amazing. The pot fits tightly to the base which forces the steam upwards through the cous cous (which is what you want). One trick with any couscousierre is is to put a layer of cheese cloth between the couscousierre base and the perforated top (not inside where the cous cous is). This makes a "gasket" between the two pieces which forces the steam upwards through the cous cous instead of escaping around the edges of the two pieces, and also acts as a secondary "strainer" to keep small grain cous cous from dropping down into the water. . The recipe in moroccan modern has a couple of steps in which the cous cous is removed from the perforated steamer top and additional water added, soaked, crumbled by hand to rid it of lumps,...
Couscous happiness
We were intimidated by the size of this for feeding two people but went with it, figuring leftovers are always good, but it's actually a very practical size. Our first couscous was the 'small family couscous' from Paula Wolfert's book, and surprisingly it involves an entire whole chicken going in the base. Having tried it, we've found the base is actually one of the best sized pots for cooking a whole chicken in a sauce, even when not using the steamer portion. Very glad we have a lid - some books imply no need, but then go on to ask you to cover the cooking soup! I'm also very glad to have it in decent stainless steel - I had a little cleanup to do both in the bottom pot section and the couscous part, and it makes the cleanup process a lot easier when you're not scared about the wellbeing of the implement. Sturdy, nicely made, happy with the purchase.
couscous pot
I purchased this pot for one purpose - to prepare couscous in the traditional manner - rather than just boiling the couscous like rice. For the best couscous, a large aluminum or stainless steel pot is needed that has a tight fitting, fine holded colander on top to hold the couscous, with a lid. This pot works very well and has a beautiful chrome finish with heavy high guality metal, especially at the base. For preparing the couscous I recommend following closely the instructions in "Moroccan Modern by Hassan M'Souli" on page 175. Use real couscous, not instant couscous, such as Marrakesh Express ([...]), and use real saffron threads not saffron flavored spice. This pot also comes with instructions on how to prepare couscous, but I prefer the Hassan M'Souli method as well as the many wonderfull recipes in his book. - This pot can also serve as a very good stock pot and steamer for veggies.
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