Seffa, Moroccan Sweet Couscous
Seffa is the sweet couscous Moroccans bring out for celebrations, often to close a meal or to stand in for dessert at a feast. Fine steamed couscous is mounded into a dome, streaked with cinnamon, and studded with dried fruit and almonds, traditionally showered with powdered sugar. This version skips the sugar entirely, because chopped dates and raisins folded through warm couscous already push it well into dessert territory. Whole-wheat couscous keeps some bran and bite where the usual refined semolina does not. Steam it lightly and fluff it hard, so it stays a mound of separate grains rather than a paste, and let the cinnamon and orange zest do the perfuming.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Whole wheat couscous
- 5 wholes Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
- 1/3 cup Raisins
- 1/3 cup Almonds, toasted and chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp cassia cinnamon, ground
- 1/4 tsp Green cardamom, seeds ground
- 1 tsp Oranges, zest only
Method
- Steep the raisins in a cup (240 ml) of just-boiled water for 5 minutes, then drain, saving the soaking water. Plumping them first keeps them from stealing moisture back out of the couscous later, and the sweet soaking water goes to good use in the next step.
- Pour 1.5 cups (360 ml) of hot water, the raisin water included, over the couscous with the cardamom, cover tight, and leave 5 minutes, then fluff thoroughly with a fork. Steaming rather than boiling keeps the grains separate and light, and dragging the fork through breaks up every clump.
- Toast the almonds in a dry pan for 4 to 5 minutes until golden, then chop. Toasting turns them from soft to crisp and brings out an oil-rich depth that raw almonds keep locked away.
- Fold the dates, raisins, half the almonds, half the cinnamon, and the orange zest through the warm couscous. Working it in while warm lets the dates soften and cling to the grains, spreading their sweetness evenly instead of sitting in clumps.
- Mound onto a platter, dust with the remaining cinnamon, and crown with the rest of the almonds. Serve warm or at room temperature; it holds for a day and travels well to a table full of people.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 260 calories, 7 g protein, 6 g fiber, 15 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
