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SMART SHOPPING: Couscous

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Although couscous looks like a grain, it is technically a pasta. This starch is made from durum semolina, a high-protein wheat flour that is also used to make Italian pasta. Traditional Moroccan couscous is made by rubbing coarse-ground durum semolina and water between the hands to form small, coarse granules. The couscous is then dried and cooked over a simmering stew in a steamer called a couscoussière, which is essentially a stockpot fitted with a small-holed colander. The couscous sits in the colander and plumps in the steam produced by the pot’s contents. The boxed couscous found in most supermarkets is a precooked version of traditional couscous. About the size of bread crumbs, the precooked couscous needs only a few minutes of steeping in hot liquid to be fully cooked.