Consumed

Pearls of great price

One night a while back, at the Turkish/Mediterranean restaurant Aya Sofia, I found myself marveling over a kind of pasta I’d never had before. Or was it a grain? Whatever it was, it was delicious. Creamy texture, rich flavor. I may have moaned in pleasure, and my wife may have laughed in response. I asked the server what it was I’d just inhaled and learned a new term: pearl couscous. See also: Israeli couscous.

A couple of days later, I turned to my friend and mentor, the Internet, and grew wise.

Following in the tradition of pasta shaped and/or marketed like grains (think Italian orzo and rice), Israeli couscous is technically not related to the staple carbohydrate of the Mahgreb called couscous. Invented in the 1950s by the Tel Aviv-based firm Osem, Israeli couscous is extruded (like ordinary pasta) and toasted to dry (like Jewish farfel). The result, when cooked, is a chewy, buttery carbohydrate that is shaped more like pearls of tapioca than actual couscous, and that has, over the years, become a staple in Israel. To make matters more confusing, traditional African couscous is often mistakenly referred to as a grain. In fact, it is a method of treating durum semolina (the same wheat used to make pasta), that produces small granules, which are then steamed several times and fluffed.

We’ve had it three times now, starting with a variation of this fine recipe and moving on to a couple of homemade concoctions, all of them delicious. Chicken stock is your friend when it comes to Israeli couscous. So is butter (mmmm).

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