Beyond Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Olives (recipe on the site) and Harira (recipe on the site), this is the dish Moroccan families traditionally build their Friday around: a big, generous couscous loaded with chicken, lamb and seven vegetables piled over a mountain of steamed semolina.
This is not the five-minute couscous most Americans know from a box. Traditional couscous is steamed several times over a simmering stew, absorbing its flavor with each pass, and fluffed by hand between steamings. A couscoussier (a stacked steamer pot) makes it easier, but a large pot with a fine-mesh colander set on top works almost as well.
The seven vegetables are flexible depending on the season: carrots, turnips, zucchini, cabbage, pumpkin, chickpeas and tomatoes are the classic lineup, and this version is adjusted for what is reliably available at American grocery stores in fall and winter. It is a dish for a full table, worth setting aside an afternoon for.
Couscous Royal Recipe
Ingredients
- For the meat and broth:
- 2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 1 1/2 lbs lamb shoulder, cut into large chunks
- 2 onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 cups water or chicken stock
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- For the seven vegetables:
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 2 turnips, peeled and quartered
- 1/2 small green cabbage, cut into wedges
- 2 zucchini, halved crosswise
- 2 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into large chunks (in place of pumpkin)
- 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
- 2 tomatoes, quartered
- 1/2 cup golden raisins (optional, for a touch of sweetness)
- For the couscous:
- 3 cups medium-grain couscous
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups warm water, divided
- 3 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil and brown the chicken and lamb pieces on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- In the same pot, cook the onions and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon stick, and tomato paste, and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Return the meat to the pot, add the water or stock, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes, until the meat is nearly tender.
- Add the carrots and turnips and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the cabbage, zucchini, and squash, and simmer another 15 to 20 minutes until all the vegetables and meat are tender.
- Stir in the chickpeas, tomatoes, and raisins if using, and simmer for a final 10 minutes. Taste the broth and adjust salt and pepper.
- While the stew finishes, prepare the couscous: place it in a wide bowl, drizzle with half the olive oil and the salt, and rub it through the grains with your fingers. Gradually add half the warm water, tossing and fluffing with a fork, then let sit for 10 minutes to absorb.
- Steam the couscous over simmering water (in a couscoussier, or a fine colander set over a pot of simmering water, covered) for 15 minutes. Turn it out into the bowl again, fluff it, drizzle with the remaining olive oil and warm water, and steam a second time for 10 to 15 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Toss the finished couscous with the butter. Mound it on a large platter, make a well in the center, and arrange the meat and vegetables over and around it. Ladle some of the broth over everything and serve the rest on the side.
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