Moroccan Couscous
Friday couscous the Moroccan way: chicken and seven vegetables in a saffron-turmeric broth over properly fluffed grains.
- prep
- 30 min
- cook
- 1 h 30 min
- total
- 2 h
- serves
- 6
- level
- medium
In Morocco couscous is Friday lunch, served after prayers from one vast platter: a mountain of grains, a crown of seven vegetables, meat at the center, broth ladled over at the table. The seven vegetables are tradition, not superstition; use what the market gave you.
The grains deserve the real treatment: steamed over the stew (or at minimum fluffed in stages with broth), never just drowned in boiling water and abandoned.
Moroccan Couscous is one of the world's classic dishes from 67 countries.
method
Brown the meat with the onions in oil in a large pot. Add the tomatoes, spices, saffron and 2 liters of water and simmer 30 minutes.
Add the carrots, turnips and cabbage and simmer 20 minutes.
Add the zucchini, pumpkin and chickpeas for a final 20 minutes, until everything is tender and the broth is golden.
Meanwhile prepare the couscous: moisten with salted water, rest 10 minutes, rake with your fingers, then steam over the stew (or cover with hot broth) and fluff with butter in two rounds.
Mound the couscous on a platter, hollow the top, arrange the meat and vegetables, and moisten with broth. Serve the rest of the broth in a bowl alongside.
chef's tips
- Fluff the grains in stages with fat and liquid; the fork-and-kettle method sells the dish short.
- Vegetables go in by hardness, so everything lands tender together.
- Tfaya, caramelized onions with raisins and cinnamon, is the glorious optional crown.