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Couscous (1)

Category: Main Course

Author: The Savvybearcat

Date: 1/1/2007

Rating:

(4.0) by 2 users

Ingredients:

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Instructions:

Ingredients: 2 lb of couscous 1 cup chick peas (soaked) 1 chicken 1
lamb shoulder 1 onion 4 carrots 2 turnips 1 bunch of coriander leaves
1 pinch of ground saffron 1 pinch of ground cinnamon 1-2 tsp of
harissa sauce 1 lb of pumpkin 2 red bell peppers 4 small tomatoes 5
small zucchini water Harissa sauce: Soak a few dried hot chilies in
cold water for an hour. Split the chilies and remove the stems and
seeds. Pound in a mortar with 2 or 3 tablespoons of caraway seeds, a
garlic clove and some coarse salt until it forms a paste. Mix in
enough olive oil to make the paste fluid. Refrigerate. Spread 2
pounds of couscous on a tray and sprinkle with enough water to
moisten them. Rake through the couscous with your fingers until all
are moistened. Let sit for about 15 minutes, then rake through them
again. Continue sprinkling with water and rubbing the pellets between
your palms until all are saturated and have doubled in size.

Drain 1 cup chick peas that have soaked in water overnight, and
simmer them in fresh water for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until they are
tender. Drain and setr aside. Cut up a chicken and a lamb shoulder
into large pieces. Chop an onion. Peel 4 carrots and 2 turnips and
cut them into large chunks. Rinse a bunch of coriander leaves.

Fill the bottom section of a couscoussier about halfway with cold
water and drop in the prepared meat, vegetables and coriander leaves.
Add a pinch each of ground saffron and cinnamon, and stir in a
teaspoon or two of harissa sauce.

Bring the water slowly to a boil; remove any scum from its surface
and cook the stew at a bare simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
Heap the couscous lightly in the top section of the couscoussier. Set
the top section on the lower one and cover the couscoussier with its
lid.

Raise the heat so the liquid boils and produces steam to cook the
couscous. After about 30 minutes, the pellets will lump together. To
separate them, lift off the top section, leaving the stew to cook in
the bottom. Tip out the couscous onto a tray. Sprinkle cold water
over the couscous. Gently rake through pellet with your fingers to
break up any lumps. Set aside.

Peel and slice 1 pound of pumpkin into chunks. Cook them separately
as not to over cook them. Put the pumpkin chunks into a small pan
and cover them with liquid ladled from the stew. Set pan aside.

Broil 2 red bell peppers until the skins blister. Let cool, covered
by a damp cloth, then peel and seed them. Immerse 4 small tomatoes in
boiling water; peel halve and seed them. Cut 5 small zucchini into
large pieces. Add these vegetables to the stew.

Return the couscous to the top section of the couscoussier, replace
the top section on the lower one. Cook for 15 minutes, or until the
peppers and zucchini are tender and the couscous is soft and fluffy.
Meanwhile, simmer the pumpkin gently for 10 to 15 minutes until
tender.

To serve, pile the couscous on a serving platter, arrange the meat and
vegetables on top and around the couscous. Ladle broth over. Serve
with the rest of the broth and harissa sauce.