For those of you who don’t know, couscous is a Berber dish consisting of spherical granules made by rolling and shaping moistened semonila wheat and then coating them firmly with wheat flour. It is most popular in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

Couscous are traditionally steamed and fluffed so to separate the granules. Boling or stirring them will reduce the couscous to a thick, mashed potato-like consistency. Like pasta, couscous doesn’t have much flavor to begin with, and because of that, they are usually partnered with flavored stocks, herbs and spices, vegetables, dried fruits, nuts or meat and chicken as toppings.

Here are some cooking tips for couscous:

- Be sure to identify which type of couscous you have purchased (instant or traditional) to properly plan cooking time.

- Couscous may also be cooked like rice. Heat butter, add couscous and stir to coat, add stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat to lowest setting, cover and cook (no peeking!) until liquid is absorbed. Fluff to separate.

- If you lack a steamer, a heat-proof colander inside a stockpot will work fine. Line the colander with cheesecloth if the holes are too big.

- When using the long traditional method of steaming couscous, covering the pot is not recommended as the condensation can drip onto the grains and make the couscous mushy.

- As well as a carbohydrate-laden side dish, couscous may also be eaten as a porridge, in salads, or in desserts.

- To double or triple the volume of instant couscous, avoid the hot water method given on the box and take the time to slowly steam it.

- Cooked couscous should be eaten within a couple of days. It may be frozen up to three months.

- 1 cup dry couscous = 2-1/2 cups cooked.

- As a side dish, plan on 1/2 to 3/4 cup cooked couscous per person.

Packaged couscous can cook very quickly off the stove by absorbing a boiling liquid while authentic couscous will require more time and good steaming to cook them.

Some recipes where you can use couscous are: Apple Couscous Acorn Squash, Aztec Couscous, Blueberry Couscous Cake, Chicken with Lime Sauce and Raisin Couscous, Chocolate Cream Couscous Cake, Couscous Pilaf, Couscous Salad, Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries and Pecans, Couscous Stuffing with Currants, Apricots and Pistachios, Couscous with Tomato Eggplant Sauce, Italian Couscous, Lemon Couscous Chicken - South Beach Diet, Moroccan Couscous, Quick Couscous with Chicken, Savory Chicken Couscous, Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Couscous, Sunny Breakfast Couscous Cereal and Tropical Couscous.