Mediterranean Recipes – COUSCOUS Day

Traditional Tunisian Lamb Couscous

Couscousday Chef — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 11:31:46 +0000

Traditional Tunisian Lamb Couscous

Couscous is a staple in most Maghreb cuisines. It is known as the national dish in Tunisia, but also in Algeria and Morocco, as well as Mauritania and Libya. Tunisian couscous is one of the countless variations of this delicious and versatile dish.

It is thought that the original name of couscous (Arabic: كسكس) could have come from the Arabic word kaskasa, which means “to pound in small pieces” or from the Berber word seksu, which means “rounded” or “well rolled”.

It is called kousksi in Tunisia, taam, kosksi or kesksu in Algeria, seksu in Morocco, and maftoul in Jordan and Lebanon. It is also used in Sicily where it is known as cuscusu.

Couscous is made from small durum semolina balls that are crushed and steamed.

Couscous is traditionally steamed in a couscous steamer (couscoussier) to produce softer, larger grains. Nowadays, the couscous grain (semolina) that is sold in most supermarkets in the western world is pre-steamed and then dried.

Precooked couscous, also known as instant couscous, takes less time to prepare than traditional couscous, and is almost as good, although purists will easily notice the difference.

When preparing a meat couscous, it is important to choose only one meat. Indeed, the couscous is steamed with the vegetable and meat broth, and this broth should give the aroma of only one meat.

Couscous can also be prepared with several spices, and spice blends. In Tunisia, tabel is the preferred spice blend. It usually includes at coriander, caraway, garlic and chili powder at a minimum.

There is also ras el hanout, a spice blend from the Maghreb whose recipes also vary but which often include spices such as cumin, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon or coriander.

INGREDIENTS

2 lb lamb stew meat , cut into large pieces
2 lb couscous fine semolina (or medium)
2 onions , finely chopped
2 cloves garlic , pressed
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons harissa
2 tablespoons ground caraway
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 turnips , cut in half
6 medium carrots , peeled
4 zucchini , peeled lengthwise, alternately leaving a layer of skin
6 small potatoes , peeled
10 oz. chickpeas (canned)
4 green hot peppers , fried in oil (optional)
Vegetable oil
Salt
Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Pour ½ cup of oil into a large pan. Fry the onion over medium heat for 2 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomato paste and harissa and continue frying for 2 minutes.
Add the caraway, coriander, and chili powder. Mix and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
Add the lamb meat and mix well so that the pieces are covered with the sauce. Cook for 5 minutes stirring regularly.
Cover with water. Add the turnips and carrots, and cook on low/medium heat for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the couscous semolina as indicated on the package, with boiling water, salt, and oil.
After 45 minutes, add the zucchini, potatoes and chickpeas.
Cook for at least another 30 to 40 minutes over low/medium heat. Monitor the cooking of the vegetables. If some vegetables are cooked before the meat, remove them from the pan and place them on a serving platter. Proceed in the same way with all the vegetables to prevent them from cooking too much.
10 minutes before the end of cooking, get a few ladles of broth (one at a time) and wet the couscous semolina. Mix the semolina well after each ladle until it get moistened enough.
Arrange the semolina in a tajine pot. Decorate the dish with the vegetables and the meat all around. Garnish with fried green hot peppers (optional).

Recipe by Chef: Mike

The post Traditional Tunisian Lamb Couscous appeared first on COUSCOUS Day.

Speedy One-Pot Chicken Couscous

Couscous Chef — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 14:41:43 +0000

Ingredients:

– 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
– ½ teaspoon salt
– ½ teaspoon black pepper
– 4 skin-on chicken breasts
– 1 small yellow onion
– 1 green chili
– 1 red chili
– 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
– ½ teaspoon cumin
– ½ teaspoon ground coriander
– ¼ teaspoon paprika
– pinch of saffron (optional)
– 1 1/4 cups (216g) couscous
– 1 3/4 cups (420ml) hot (almost boiling) chicken or vegetable stock
– 2 lemons
– seeds of half a pomegranate
– small bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

Peel the onion, then chop into small pieces. De-seed and chop the chiles into small pieces too.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and sprinkle the salt and pepper onto the skin side of the chicken breasts. Place in the pan skin-side down and cook on medium-high heat for five minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for a further five minutes. Add the onion, green and red chiles, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika and saffron to the pan and stir until the onions are coated in the spices. Cook for three minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion starts to soften.
While the onion mixture is cooking, remove the seeds from the pomegranate. Take a medium-sized bowl and hold the cut side of the pomegranate in your hand. Create a cup with your hand and hold it over the bowl. Whack the back of the pomegranate with a wooden spoon and the seeds will fall into your hand. Then you can tip them into the bowl. Any stubborn seeds can be removed by pulling the skin of the pomegranate outward a little, then repeating the spoon whacking until all seeds are removed. Put the seeds to one side.
Peel the zest from the lemons and squeeze the juice into a small bowl. Put to one side.
Add the stock and bring to a boil, place the lid on and simmer for ten minutes.
Take the lid off and pour in half the lemon juice, then carefully add in the couscous to the sides of the chicken, making sure not to leave any couscous on top of the chicken (as it won’t get cooked). You can move the chicken breasts to the side of the pan if it makes it easier. Stir everything, ensuring all of the couscous is covered, then place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat down to very low. Cook for five minutes, then turn off the heat.
Take off the lid and fluff up the couscous with a fork. Add the zest from one of the lemons and all but one tablespoon of the cilantro. Stir into the couscous.
Top with the remaining lemon zest, the pomegranate seeds and the chopped parsley. Serve with the remaining lemon juice.

The post Speedy One-Pot Chicken Couscous appeared first on COUSCOUS Day.