Cuscuz de Milho: The Northeastern Breakfast That Takes Five Minutes

Steamed Brazilian cornmeal cuscuz, naturally gluten-free, with butter, cheese and eggs. A five-minute Northeastern breakfast you'll make on repeat.

If you have ever woken up in a house in the Northeast of Brazil, you already know this smell: warm corn, melting butter, coffee on the stove. Cuscuz is not the fluffy semolina couscous of North Africa — it is flaky, golden cornmeal, steamed until it holds together in a soft cake that you break apart with a fork and eat with whatever you love.

It is also, without trying, completely gluten-free. Flocão de milho (pre-cooked corn flakes) is made from nothing but corn, which is one of the reasons I fell so hard for Brazilian breakfast when I first had to change the way I ate. Nothing about this feels like a substitution. It simply is what it has always been.

This is the plain version — cuscuz, butter, a soft egg, a slice of queijo coalho. Once you have it down, it becomes a canvas: sardines, shredded chicken, coconut milk poured over the top, a spoon of jam if you want it sweet.

PREP 5 min

TOTAL 15 min

SERVINGS 2

DIFFICULTY easy

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup flocão de milho (pre-cooked corn flakes, look for a gluten-free label)

• 1/2 cup water, plus a splash

• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus extra to serve

• 2 eggs

• 3.5 ounces queijo coalho or halloumi, sliced

• A little olive oil for the pan

METHOD

1. Hydrate the corn. Tip the flocão into a bowl with the salt. Sprinkle over the water a little at a time, stirring with your fingers, until every flake is damp and the mixture clumps lightly when squeezed but still feels loose. Leave it for 5 minutes — the corn will drink up the water and soften.

   
   

2. Steam. Spoon the hydrated corn into a cuscuzeira or a small steamer basket set over simmering water, without pressing it down. Cover and steam for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cuscuz is hot, fragrant, and holds together when you tilt the basket. No cuscuzeira? Pack it into a small bowl, cover with a plate, and microwave for 2 minutes.

   
   

3. Cook the eggs and cheese. While the cuscuz steams, warm a slick of olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Fry the cheese slices until golden on both sides and set aside. In the same pan, fry the eggs to your liking — I keep the yolks runny so they sauce the corn.

   
   

4. Serve. Turn the cuscuz out onto plates, break it open with a fork and let the butter melt into the cracks. Top with the egg and the cheese, add a pinch of salt and pepper, and eat immediately with strong coffee.

NOTES

On the corn: Flocão de milho is sold in Brazilian and Latin markets and online. Cornmeal is naturally gluten-free, but check the label for a certified mark if you cook for someone with celiac disease — some mills also process wheat.

Texture: The water is the whole trick. Too little and it steams dry and crumbly; too much and it turns to paste. Damp, loose, and clumping softly is what you want.

Variations: Pour warm coconut milk over the top for a sweet version, or fold in shredded chicken and cilantro for lunch.