ENTRY: cuscuz paulista


CLASS: noun


EQUIVALENT: Paulista couscous


DEFINITION: Savory cake prepared with flaked cornmeal, peas, tomatoes, eggs and seasoning, enriched with chicken, sardines or shrimp, and decorated with hard-boiled eggs, sliced hearts of palm and olives.


EXAMPLE: Spoon the couscous into the tube pan (very carefully to avoid spoiling the decoration), filling it to the top.


SOURCE: Viagem Gastronômica através do Brasil


COMMENT: Brazilian couscous bears little resemblance to the African one, known as cuscuz marroquino (Moroccan couscous) in Brazil. Traditionally, all the ingredients are mixed together and steamed in a special pan called cuscuzeiro – a double boiler with a perforated upper part. In order to save time, many cooks prepare couscous in a common pan. In this case, the cornmeal is added slowly to the braised ingredients to avoid lumps. Then the dough is poured in a tube pan with bottom and sides decorated with sliced hard-boiled eggs and hearts of palm. When cool, the couscous is unmolded on a plate.