Rice is one of the most basic and important foods in the diet of most of the world’s population, it has become a “must-have” for any cuisine. These days, there are almost endless varieties of presentations and recipes for any type of dishes and desserts that use rice as a main ingredient.
But what happens to those people who for some reason don’t get hooked on rice or just don’t like it, but still want to prepare rice recipes with no rice at all?
In case you don’t know, here we are going to tell you what is the perfect replacement for rice. Its history is quite interesting!
A little bit of Israeli Couscous History
Ptitim, which translates from Hebrew as “Little crumbs”, is also known in many others countries as:
- Pearl Couscous
- Israeli Couscous
- Ben-Gurion’s Rice
And it was the only solution that Israelis found when they had to deal with the rice shortage that hit their country in the early 1950’s. Its popularity has spread over the years and across all continents.
This couscous, that is actually not a genuine couscous, is a pasta made with durum wheat flour, which takes its small round shape by extrusion and cutting in an attempt to resemble the shape of a regular rice grain. Then it is lightly roasted in the oven, which gives its characteristic hardness and a rather tasty flavor.
After Ptitim went into market under the name of Israeli Couscous, it was also known in some parts of the world as “Ben-Gurion’s Rice”, after the name of the, by that time, Prime Minister of Israel who approached the Osem food company with the idea of creating a cheaper replacement for rice.
It is also often called Pearl Couscous because at present most Ptitim that can be found in supermarkets is spherical, so it seems as if it were a large couscous.
Like conventional couscous, Ptitim is really easy to cook. It is the perfect food for eating both alone or as a side dish. Since it swells by absorbing the broth in which it is cooked and has a very pleasant texture.
Although some recipes need it to be cooked in a pot of boiling water until tender and drained as pasta, some cooks prefer to combine it with boiling broth and let it sit and others just cook it like regular rice. However, following the instructions usually printed on the package, its preparation is quite easy.
If you are interested in trying Ptitim, you may take a look at riceselect.com/product/riceselect-pearl-couscous, and you’ll find additional information about it.
Anyway, here are two recipes you’ll surely fall in love with.
Orange, blueberries and almonds Ptitim
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp. of orange juice.
- ¼ tbsp. of Salt.
- 1 ½ cup of chicken broth.
- ¼ cup of dehydrated blueberries.
- ¼ cup of almonds.
- 2 spring onions in thin slices.
- 2 mint springs.
- A pinch of ground black pepper.
- ½ oz of butter.
- 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
- ½ tbsp. of orange zest.
- 1 cup of Ptitim.
Preparation:
- In a bowl, mix the orange juice, olive oil, orange zest, salt, and pepper.
- In a medium pot, melt butter, add onions and couscous.
- Cook until golden brown for about three minutes, then add the veggie broth and bring to boil over low heat, cover and cook until soft, about 8 minutes.
- Add the blueberries, cover and cook for another minute. Remove from heat.
- Add the vinaigrette to the couscous and mix to integrate completely. Add the almonds and mint, mix and serve.
Peppers and Olive Ptitim Salad
Ingredients:
- 5 2/3 oz. (160g) of Israeli couscous.
- 2 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil.
- 1 tbsp. of wine vinegar.
- 10 cherry tomatoes.
- 12 black olives.
- 1/2 yellow pepper.
- 1/4 of a red onion.
- 15-20 fresh basil leaves.
- Half a lemon juice.
- ¾ oz. (20g) of nuts (optional).
- Salt.
Preparation:
- In a skillet, with a tablespoon of olive oil, fry the Israeli couscous for about two or three minutes.
- Cook in a pot with enough salted water for about 10 minutes until tender. Let it cool.
- Cut the pepper and onion into very small pieces, and laminate the olives and cherry.
- Mix everything with the couscous already cold.
- Chop the basil and leave it macerating in the oil in a bowl. Then blend it with vinegar and salt and add the mix to the couscous.
