[Sca-cooks] couscous was Serving stuff over rice

[Johnna Holloway]

Rice and Couscous are lumped together under
"Kinds of Starch Dishes: Couscous, Rice, Meat Porridges (Harisas), Noodles and the Like" in An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century Translated by Charles Perry

Recipes there include:
Soldiers' Couscous (Kuskusû Fityâni)    

The usual moistened couscous is known by the whole world. The fityâni is the one where the meat is cooked with its vegetables, as is usual, and when it is done, take out the meat and the vegetables from the pot and put them to one side; strain the bones and the rest from the broth and return the pot to the fire; when it has boiled, put in the couscous cooked and rubbed with fat[145] and leave it for a little [p. 57, verso -- HM actually says p. 57, recto here] on a reduced fire or the hearthstone until it takes in the proper amount of the sauce; then throw it on a platter and level it, put on top of it the cooked meat and vegetables, sprinkle it with cinnamon and serve it. This is called Fityâni[146] in Marrakesh.

I Have Seen a Couscous Made with Crumbs of the Finest White Bread.       
For this one you take crumbs and rub with the palm on the platter, as one rubs the soup [hasu; unless this is a scribal error for hashu, "filling"], and let the bread be neither cold nor very hot; put it in a pierced pot [the colander-like perforated top portion of a couscousiere or couscous steamer] and when it's steam has left, throw it on the platter and rub with fat or moisten with the broth of the meat prepared for it. I have also seen a couscous that one makes from a fat chicken or stuffed and fattened capons and it was as if it were moistened only with fat, and in it were turnips of Toledo and "cow's eyes."

http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Medieval/Cookbooks/Andalusian/andalusian8.htm#Heading376

Johnnae

On Oct 25, 2013, at 9:13 AM, Betsy Marshall wrote:

> Which brings to mind a query; how/when was couscous (i.e. tiny balls of
> wheat, or pasta) used? Maybe rice came in later and was adapted to this use?
> -Pyro (sorry, nothing to contribute but questions today)