Couscous Recipe

First meal you think of when you think of Morocco is: Couscous! This delicious dish is made of vegetables, meat or chicken and couscous :) In Morocco, we eat a couscous every friday for lunch. It is served in a big (giant) plate at the center of the table and everyone digs in.

Couscous is very easy is to make but its preparation is time consuming. But hey don't we have more time these days?! 

Ingredients:

• 2 lb of couscous
• 1 cup of chickpeas
• 1 lb of beef meat (optional, can be also replaced by chicken)
• 1 onion
• 6 tomatoes
• 3 purple top turnips
• 3 white turnips
• 4 sweet potatoes
• 3 potatoes
• 10 zucchini
• 2 lb of pumpkin
• 4 chili peppers
• Vegetalble oil
• Olive oil
• 1 bouquet of parsley
• 1 bouquet of coriander
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1/2 tablespoon of pepper
• 1 tablespoon of ginger powder
• 1 tablespoon of tumeric

To prepare a couscous, you will need:

• A couscousiere
• A big plate

Method:

1. Put the cheakpeas in room temperature water for few hours before starting preparing your couscous
2. In a casserole, add 1 chopped onion, 4 diced tomates, meat, 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, salt, ginger powder, pepper, tumeric and cheakpeas.
3. Cover and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes 
4. Add parsley and coriander and mix 
5. Wait 30 minutes. Add 6 cups of boiled water in the casserole.
6. Put the couscous in a the biggest plate you have and add 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 3 tablespoons of water and mix it up WITH YOUR HANDS.
7. Put the couscousiere on the top of the casserole.
8. Put the couscous in the couscousiere... with your hands again!
9. Once it steams, put the couscous in your big plate. Add 3 tablespoons of water, mix (with your hands) and put again in the couscousiere.
10. Repeat 3 times.
11. Remove top of the couscousiere. Wait 30 minutes. Add carrots and turpins (cut in half)
12. Wait 30 minutes, add potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, zucchini and chili pepper. Cover with water.
13. Add the tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of oilve oil. Stir. Leave it on medium heat for 1 hour
14. Serve: put the couscous first, the meat should be at the center and then add your vegetables and chickpeas.

Tadaaaa!

Tip from a Moroccan: Leftovers taste even better! :)

Bessaha! *

*this is how we say bon appétit in Moroccan, which literally translates to "with health".