The important thing to remember is that cous cous is a grain from which all the moisture has been extracted, so what you are going to do is put the liquid back. It’s a similar process to cooking rice but much easier.

One cup of cous cous will serve 2-3 people, and to that you need to add one cup of liquid which can be water, stock or a mix of water and wine. It’s not critical, but how you do it is.

Start by putting a walnut-sized knob of butter in a small pan and add the liquid you are using. You can also add some chopped figs, nuts, dried fruit, grapes or even apple at this stage if you want to. Bring the liquid to a boil, remove from the heat and shoot in the cous cous. Stir it quickly with a fork, adding a pinch of salt as you do so, and then leave it for 5-10 minutes. Fluff it up with a fork before serving.

photo credit: Simon Blackley