I first had couscous about 20 years ago, while visiting a friend in Seattle (Hi Anita!). We went to a Senegalese restaurant, and couscous was, as I recall, a side dish/rice substitute for many of the entrees. I had some (perhaps with lamb?) and really loved it. Then, when I saw there was a couscous-based dessert I ordered this too, and also enjoyed it. But, several years later I was in a soul food restaurant in Harlem (in Manhattan, of course) when I saw couscous on the menu again. I eagerly ordered it, fondly remembering my first experience with it. However, this second time it wasn't very good--it was kind of dry, and not very flavorful. Over the years, I occasionally saw microwavable frozen couscous-based dishes in groceries, and tried some of them. (This was back before I had this blog.) Usually they were okay to pretty good--much better than the second time I had couscous, but not as great as that first time. And then, a couple of months ago, I saw microwavable pre-made couscous again, from a company called Wild Garden. I'll discuss this one below.
I was a bit surprised to learn that couscous isn't an exotic and different kind of grain. It's actually a subspecies of wheat, called durum. "Common wheat" is the most popular species in the world, while durum is a very distant second, comprising 5-8% of the world's wheat production. Durum wheat was artificially selected by humans long ago, around 7000 B.C., from a species of domesticated wheat (emmer) grown in the Middle East and Central Europe. Couscous wasn't developed until the 7th century, in Northwest Africa, in what's now the nations of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, and Libya. The traditional method of making couscous is very labor-intensive. The hardest part of the durum wheat plant, what's called the "wheat middlings," the part most resistant to grinding, is pounded, sprinkled with water, and hand rolled into small pellets. These pellets are then kept separate using a flour dusting, and are sieved. Any pellets that are too small and go through the sieve are recollected, and the total process is repeated, until all the wheat is in pellet form. In modern times this process has been mechanized. The most likely origin for this food's name is that it comes from the Arabic word kaskasa, meaning "to pound small." Since its invention, couscous has spread quite a bit, especially into Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. It's popular in France, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, and Israel. It's also a major part of Palestinian cuisine. Couscous is often served in a broth or stew, with vegetables and meat (anything from chicken, lamb, fish, camel, or beef, depending on where it's being made). Alternately, it's also common as a sweet dessert, and mixed with things like nuts, honey, cream and sugar. Some cultures even use completely different grains, like farina, barley, corn meal, millet, or sorghum, but still call it couscous, or one of its alternate titles, such as maftoul.
I wasn't able to find out much about the Wild Garden company. The official website doesn't include any sort of history about the company itself. Just a statement that they're dedicated to providing Mediterranean food to the world. Some of their other products include pre-made shawarma, rice & lentils, bulgur (another durum wheat product), a Persian marinade, spices made for Turkish kebobs, hummus, and some snack boxes. For those who care about such things, only some of their wares are gluten-free, kosher, and vegan. Also, they state that they are not GMO-free at the moment, but they are pursuing this. Finally, the couscous I ate, and maybe the other Mediterranean specialty dishes produced by Wild Garden, was made in....India, for some reason.
But on to my impressions of the Wild Garden couscous. It came in a 250 g. (8.8 ounce) bag, and was microwavable. The ingredients were a vegetable stock made from water, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, tomato, onion, cabbage, cilantro, and salt and spices, along with chick peas, couscous, sunflower oil, and tomato paste. It had the small couscous lumps, along with visible chick peas, and was a dull brownish-orange color. The taste was kind of similar to the other pre-made microwavable couscous I've had over the years--okay, but not great. I had no problems finishing it, but I didn't love it like that initial encounter.
So this post topic was a little unusual in that I've had it several times, over the decades, both professionally made in restaurants, and from heating up pre-made dishes from supermarkets. It appears I like couscous in general. However, as the cliche goes, it evidently depends on how it's made. Clearly, the best results were when it was professionally made, in a good restaurant. In closing, it's been a long time, and I'm not positive, but a good candidate for the Seattle restaurant I had such a sublime dining experience in is La Teranga. I looked at some recent reviews of it, and they were fairly glowing, too.
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