Sicilians greatly enjoy couscous, and though one might attribute this to the period when the island was an Arab province, the love of couscous could also be more recent -- Sicily is not far from north Africa, and exchanges never ceased between the two shores. As a general rule Sicilians serve their couscous with fish, as opposed to the mutton favored by the north Africans, but there are exceptions. This couscous with pork and cauliflower is from Trapani. To serve 4 you'll need:
Prep Time: 90 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/8 pounds (500 g) durum wheat semolina (a mix of fine and coarse grained)
- 1 1/3 pounds (600 g) lean pork, cubed
- 4 pork spare ribs (optional)
- A cauliflower
- A rib of celery
- A small bunch parsley
- 2 medium onions, one of which minced
- A carrot
- 4 bay leaves
- A clove
- A potato, peeled
- 4 ripe tomatoes
- A pinch of powdered cinnamon
- Olive oil
- Salt, and peppercorns to taste
- Cayenne pepper (optional) to taste
- Oil for frying
Preparation:
Put the pork and the ribs in a pot with an onion, stuck with a clove, a bay leaf, the potato, the tomatoes, cut in half, the carrot, the celery, the parsley, a few peppercorns, and the cinnamon. Cover all this with 3 1/2 quarts (3.5 l) of cold water. Bring the pot to a boil and simmer it for 2 hours, salting it after an hour. In the meantime, make the cuscus (see instructions if need be).
When the 2 hours are up, filter the broth, reserving the meat, and transfer the broth to the pot that will support the cuscusera (a special pot for cooking cuscus that has a fine network of holes in the bottom). Season the cuscus with olive oil, minced parsley, minced onion, a pinch of cinnamon, and a dusting of black or red pepper, as you prefer.
Crumble the bay leaves into the cuscusera, shaking the pieces about so they cover the holes, put the cuscus into the cuscusera, and set it over the broth pot, seal it (traditionally people use a snake of bread dough as a gasket between the cuscusera and the underlying pot), and steam the cuscus, covered, for an hour and 15 minutes.
In the meantime break the head of cauliflower into florets and cook them in lightly salted water until done but still quite firm; drain them and as soon as they have cooled to the point they can be handled, fry them until golden.
When the cuscus is cooked, turn it out into the broad bowl you used to prepare the cuscus and season it with the broth it steamed over, the reserved pork, and the cauliflower. Mix well, cover, cover the cover with a blanket, and let the cuscus rest for at least an hour before serving it.
Note: Though it won't taste quite the same, you can greatly simplify this dish if you purchase pre-cooked cuscus.
When the 2 hours are up, filter the broth, reserving the meat, and transfer the broth to the pot that will support the cuscusera (a special pot for cooking cuscus that has a fine network of holes in the bottom). Season the cuscus with olive oil, minced parsley, minced onion, a pinch of cinnamon, and a dusting of black or red pepper, as you prefer.
Crumble the bay leaves into the cuscusera, shaking the pieces about so they cover the holes, put the cuscus into the cuscusera, and set it over the broth pot, seal it (traditionally people use a snake of bread dough as a gasket between the cuscusera and the underlying pot), and steam the cuscus, covered, for an hour and 15 minutes.
In the meantime break the head of cauliflower into florets and cook them in lightly salted water until done but still quite firm; drain them and as soon as they have cooled to the point they can be handled, fry them until golden.
When the cuscus is cooked, turn it out into the broad bowl you used to prepare the cuscus and season it with the broth it steamed over, the reserved pork, and the cauliflower. Mix well, cover, cover the cover with a blanket, and let the cuscus rest for at least an hour before serving it.
Note: Though it won't taste quite the same, you can greatly simplify this dish if you purchase pre-cooked cuscus.
