PAULISTA COUSCOUS is the typical way of cooking couscous in the State of São Paulo in the southeast.
The “couscous” is a dish of North African origin (from Moroccan couscous).
It passed through Portugal and upon arriving in Brazil, it changed again, adapting to local ingredients, so wheat was replaced by corn or cassava.
Salted and slightly moistened, the mixture is marinated to incorporate the seasoning.
From there, it is steamed.
It can be enriched with other ingredients, as is customary in the southeast region, or simply with milk, eggs, butter, or dried meat, as preferred in the northeast, where it can be sweet and consumed with coconut milk, commonly for breakfast.
Paulista Couscous is a more complex dish to prepare.
It requires flaked corn flour and toasted cassava flour.
It is usually enriched with peas, corn, tomato, olives, eggs and steamed inside the classic ring mold.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Brazilian
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups flaked corn flour (or precooked)
- 1 3/4 cups coarse cassava flour
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 7 oz tomato sauce
- 2.8 oz olives
- 2.1 oz peas
- 3 eggs (Hard-boiled)
- 5.3 oz sardines
- 2 tomatoes
- 2.1 oz corn
- to taste salt
- to taste olive oil
Steps
Grease the mold and arrange the sliced tomatoes, hard-boiled egg slices, sliced olives (keep some aside), peas, and sardine fillets on the bottom and sides.
Chop the carrots and onions and sauté in oil with the garlic.
Add the tomato sauce, the reserved olives, and the corn and cook for about five minutes.
With the heat off, add the flours mixed together. Add chopped parsley, adjust salt and pepper, and carefully pour the mixture into the mold, smoothing the surface to compact.
Cover and steam for about 50 minutes, then unmold by inverting while lukewarm, with great care.
The Cuscuz suitable for the recipe can be found online.
FAQs
What is the difference between Paulista and Northeastern couscous?
The Paulista couscous and the Northeastern couscous are different preparations, despite sharing the name and having a common base of corn flour.
The Paulista one is prepared with tuna, hard-boiled eggs, sometimes hearts of palm, olives, tomatoes, peppers, and seasonings.
The ingredients are sautéed and cooked together, forming a dough that is then placed in a mold to set.
The corn mixture is steamed.
In the Northeastern version, the ingredients are sautéed and cooked together, forming a dough that is then placed in a mold to set.
It is made with corn or tapioca, in the sweet version with coconut.
