To prepare the couscous, you need to buy the pre-cooked couscous, add water, a bit of oil, some salt, fluff it with a fork, and let it rest.

Meanwhile, prepare a sauté with onions, bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, and even eggplants if desired. Let it cook, add fresh tomato, salt, pepper, oil, let it cook and add some water.

To prepare the sauce to go on top of the couscous, I sauté onions, a sprig of onion, carrots, bell pepper, and garlic. I let it cook with a bit of tomato. When it’s cooked, I blend it until it’s smooth and then pour it over the couscous.

“Couscous,” originally from North Africa’s Maghreb region, is a centuries-old dish woven into the fabric of Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian, and Libyan cultures. Influenced by Berber and Arab traditions, it found its way to Sicily due to historical, cultural, and geographical ties. Sicily’s history of cultural exchange, geographic proximity, and culinary adaptation resulted in the integration of couscous into its cuisine. This fusion has given rise to unique Sicilian couscous dishes, celebrated in events like the yearly International Couscous Festival in San Vito Lo Capo, symbolizing the interplay of diverse influences.