SICILIAN COUSCOUS

(Cuscus)

Serves 6 to 8

THE COUSCOUS

675 g/1¼ lb ready-to-cook couscous

4 tablespoons water

175 ml/6 fl oz olive oil

1 large onion, finely minced

Small bunch parsley, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

225 g/8 oz plain flour

125 ml/4 fl oz water

10-12 whole bay leaves

THE FISH AND BROTH

1.5 kg/3 lb mixed fish for soup (the fish most commonly used are John Dory, which has flesh rather like flounder; grouper; grey mullet; scorpion fish; and conger eel)

1 medium onion, minced

4 tablespoons minced parsley

5 tablespoons olive oil

700 ml/1¼ pints plain tomato sauce

1 litre/1¼ pints water

2 bay leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced very fine

HOT SAUCE

175 ml/6 fl oz of the broth

Crushed dried red pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Place the couscous in a wide bowl, dampen it with 4 tablespoons of water, and sift through it with your fingers to break up the lumps. Then add 125 ml/4 fl oz of oil, onion, parsley, garlic, and liberal amounts of salt and pepper. Stir until thoroughly blended.

Prepare the pot in which you will steam the couscous: you will need either a special double-decker steamer or a metal colander that fits tightly into a large pot with a lid that closes it well. Fill the pot with water to 2.5 cm/1 inch below the bottom of the steamer basket. Fit the steamer basket or the colander on top. You must now seal the two together: make a sticky dough of 225 g/8 oz of flour and about 125 ml/4 fl oz of water, and paste a strip of this dough all the way around the edge of the pot where it joins the basket, pushing it in well and smearing the edges as if the dough were putty, so that no steam can escape.

Line the steamer basket with bay leaves and spoon the couscous gently onto them. Cover and place on the fire. The couscous must cook for 1 hour from the time that steam starts to escape from under the lid. Every so often stir the couscous gently so that the steam gets to all of it.

Wash the fish and cut it into large pieces, putting the heads and tails to one side. Sauté the onion and the parsley in the olive oil in a large pot, and when they begin to turn golden, add the tomato sauce, 1 litre/1¼ pints of water, 2 bay leaves, salt, pepper, and the heads and tails of the fish. Bring to the boiling point, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the remaining fish to the pot and simmer slowly in the tomato broth for 10 minutes longer, or until the fish is tender and flaky.

Strain 450 ml/16 fl oz of the broth from the fish. Spoon the couscous from the steamer into a serving bowl, and add the strained stock and the minced garlic. Stir carefully before covering with a lid, then wrap the bowl in a woollen blanket or several layers of newspaper to keep it warm. Allow the wrapped bowl to stand for 30 minutes.

Lift out the pieces of fish from the remaining broth, bone them, and place them on a serving platter. Discard the heads and tails, then strain the broth. Take 175 ml/6 fl oz of the broth and heat it for a few minutes with a teaspoon of crushed dried red pepper and the oil to make a very hot sauce (similar to the North African harissa) for those who like it.

Heat the remaining broth as is, correcting the salt, and pour it into a gravy boat. Serve the couscous, the broth, and the fish all at the same time. Pass the hot pepper sauce on the side.

It was in the waters off the coast of Trapani that the Arabs first set out their elaborate traps for catching tuna, so it is no surprise that this fish plays an important role in the cooking of the area. Although tuna has had much space in the preceding chapter, I shall add one more recipe.