Fine-grained sweet couscous, called seffa in Morocco and mesfouf in Tunisia, is served hot, accompanied by cold milk or buttermilk. I like to eat it for breakfast. There are many versions. Dried fruit such as dates and raisins, and nuts such as almonds, walnuts, and pistachios, can be added, and the grain can be flavored with orange-blossom water or with cinnamon, honey, or sugar. A particularly wonderful version is with fresh grapes. The most common, seffa be zbib, is with large black or golden raisins. Seffa be tamr is with dates and walnut halves. There is also one with pomegranate seeds. Here is a basic seffa/mesfouf followed by possible garnishes. Serve it in bowls and pass round a jug of hot milk to pour over.

　　

Ingredients

serves 6-8

　　3 cups fine or medium couscous

　　3 cups warm water

　　1/2–1 teaspoon salt

　　2 tablespoons vegetable oil

　　Sugar, to taste

　　1–2 tablespoons orange-blossom water (optional)

　　6–8 tablespoons butter

　　Confectioners’ sugar to decorate

　　Ground cinnamon to decorate

　　Pot of honey to pass round

　　

Step 1

Prepare couscous as described in “An Easy Way of Preparing Quick-Cooking Couscous in the Oven” on page 376, using the amounts of couscous, water, salt, and oil called for in the above list.

　　

Step 2

Before serving, break up any lumps very thoroughly, add sugar to taste, and, if you like, orange-blossom water, and work in the butter.

　　

Step 3

Mix in one of the garnishes that follow, leaving some aside to decorate the dish.

　　

Step 4

Serve in a round, shallow dish. Shape into a cone. Dust the pointed top with confectioners’ sugar and draw lines down the sides with cinnamon. Decorate further with the bits of garnish that have been left aside.

　　

Step 5

Serve in soup bowls. Accompany with bowls of sugar, cinnamon, and honey for people to help themselves if they want to, and with a jug of hot milk.

　　

Possible Garnishes

Step 6

1/2 cup raisins soaked in water for 15–20 minutes, then drained

　　

Step 7

1/2 pound dates and 1 cup chopped walnut halves (keep a few whole to decorate)

　　

Step 8

1 1/2 cups mixed chopped lightly toasted nuts, including pistachios, walnuts, and hazelnuts, and 1/2 cup black or golden raisins

　　

Step 9

Plenty of fresh grapes

　　

Step 10

The fresh pink seeds of 2 pomegranates

　　

Step 11

1 cup blanched almonds, lightly toasted or fried in a drop of oil till golden, and coarsely chopped

　　

Step 12

For a Tunisian version, make a syrup by boiling 3/4 cup water with 1 1/4 cups sugar and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Pour half of it over the cooked grain and heat in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve with the rest of the syrup poured over and a sprinkling of chopped pistachio nuts.

　　The New Book of Middle Eastern Food Copyright © 2000Knopf