I’ve always thought it’s a supreme irony how similar Israeli and Palestinian food is given the emnity between the two countries. And my latest discovery, Patestinian couscous, which is imported by a company called Zaytoun, about whom I’ve blogged before, is a classic case in point.
It’s the same product – unless there’s some subtlety I don’t detect – as Israeli couscous with more flavour and a bigger grain than standard couscous. Someone on one of the sites I checked out compared it to the difference between pinhead oatmeal and rolled oats and that’s a good analogy.
The standard cooking technique seems to be to treat it more like pasta or rice than couscous – just covering it with water and boiling it until the water is absorbed (about 10 minutes). I found that made it slightly soft for my taste and think I’d steam it another time. It also looks more appealing than the standard version with more definition and texture. I’ll definitely be using it again.