One-Pot Cod with Pearl Couscous | Tried and True Recipes (2024)

FAQs

One-Pot Cod with Pearl Couscous | Tried and True Recipes? ›

Pearl couscous: You need 1 cup of uncooked pearl couscous, which will yield about 3 cups when cooked. Water: For a cup of uncooked couscous, you need 1 ½ cups water or other cooking liquid (such as broth). Kosher salt: If you use broth instead of water, you may not need any salt, depending on how salty the broth is.

Pearl couscous: You need 1 cup of uncooked pearl couscous, which will yield about 3 cups when cooked. Water: For a cup of uncooked couscous, you need 1 ½ cups water or other cooking liquid (such as broth). Kosher salt: If you use broth instead of water, you may not need any salt, depending on how salty the broth is.

Try a gentle cooking method: Instead of adding fat, you can also try a gentle cooking method like steaming or cooking en papillote. Both of these methods help to preserve Pacific cod's high moisture content and produce incredibly tender results.

There isn't much to baking frozen cod; all you have to adjust is the cooking time. Whereas fresh cod might take 15 minutes, frozen will take around 20 to 25 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Season your cod to your liking, or whip up a quick sauce.

You don't let it sit long enough.

Those tiny granules of couscous need time to soften. Make sure your pot remains covered to capture the steam from the hot water. Otherwise, you run the risk of undercooking your couscous, causing it to be chewy or crunchy.

Washing raw fish carries the same risks as washing poultry — by attempting to clean your seafood in the sink, you're actually spreading harmful bacteria to surfaces that likely won't be sanitized by heat or disinfectants before they come into contact with other food, according to Reader's Digest.

Before cooking, soak the fish in milk for 20 minutes

In this scenario, the protein in the milk binds with the compounds that cause that fishy odor, in essence extracting if from the fish. What's left behind is sweet-smelling, brighter flesh with clean flavor. (Just make sure you pour that milk down the drain.

But more importantly, pan frying yields that deliciously browned exterior on both sides of the fish. Baking or steaming won't accomplish that same golden “crust.” Pro Tips for pan frying cod: Let fish sit at room temp in a colander to drain any excess water, particularly if your fish was previously frozen.

Pearl couscous is technically a larger version of Moroccan couscous, though it's sometimes erroneously used synonymously with Israeli couscous. Roughly the size of a pea, pearl couscous is even larger than Israeli couscous.

What makes couscous taste better? ›

Herbs: Couscous will always be better with a fresh lift of herbs. Chopped coriander and parsley are classic accompaniments, mint is excellent and you could also try other soft leaves such as basil. Lemon: Grated lemon rind and a squeeze of juice will add extra zing.

Grate the zest of a lemon, lime or orange into the cooking water or sprinkle it over the cooked couscous. The bright, tangy notes will elevate the flavours and bring a refreshing twist to your dish. You can also add some extra herbs here to create another layer of freshness.

How much does 1 cup dry Moroccan couscous yield? 1 cup of dry couscous will give you about 2 to 2 ½ cups of cooked couscous, which should generously feed 4 people (you should budget ⅓ cup to ½ cup per person).

Only boiling water is needed to cook your couscous, but the important bit is the couscous to water ratio, you should abide by the 1:1 rule. So, for 60g of couscous, you will need 60ml of boiling water.

The proportions for cooking couscous are generally 1:1.

A little less water makes drier couscous, good for salads or serving with sauces. A little more water makes softer and slightly sticky couscous. One cup of dried couscous makes about four cups of cooked couscous.

You'll want to figure out how many people you need to serve and then you'll know how much couscous to make. I usually figure about 1/4 to 1/3 cup dry couscous per serving. For my family of 4, I use 1 to 1 1/2 cups dry couscous.