Cuscús

Steamed over the pot so the grain takes perfume instead of just liquid.

The steam above the stew flavours the grain before it ever meets the meat.

Fermented chilli paste loosened with broth spreads through the grain evenly.

Bland semolina needs sweet punctuation or every mouthful is identical.

Two starches, different bite. The pulse stops the grain going to mush.

Bland semolina is a delivery vehicle; the peel is the entire seasoning.

Dried fruit sugar against salt broth is the whole Maghrebi tagine logic.

Raw green aldehydes cut the steamed-starch flatness.

Roasted argan is nut-oil at maximum; a spoonful over steam is the whole seasoning.

Fried in butter, scattered late. It is texture doing a flavour job.

Sweet spice over savoury grain is the north African hinge, not a dessert move.

Sweet couscous under sugar and a floral water. The Maghreb ends a meal here, not a mistake.

Fine grain holds roe like caviar on blini. Iodine sits on top of nothing.

Apricot-scented flower over apricot-stewed grain: the same note, twice removed.