🍲 Couscous with Meat & Seven Vegetables

Method

1. Slice the 2 onions and quarter the 2 tomatoes; peel the 4 carrots and 3 zucchini and halve them lengthwise; cut the 400 g of pumpkin into large pieces with the skin on, and cut the quarter cabbage in two.

2. In the bottom of the couscoussier, put the 1 kg of meat with the onions, tomatoes, 1 tsp of ginger, 1 tsp of turmeric, 1 tsp of black pepper, salt and 2 tbsp of oil, plus saffron and a tied bunch of coriander if you have them.

3. Stir over medium heat for 10 minutes until the meat changes colour and the onions soften.

4. Add the 3 litres of water and the drained soaked chickpeas, bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to medium for 45 minutes.

5. While the broth simmers, put the 1 kg of couscous in a wide bowl, sprinkle with a little salted water and 1 tbsp of oil, and rub it between your hands until the grains separate.

6. Put the couscous in the top part of the couscoussier over the broth and steam for 20 minutes from the moment steam rises through the grains.

7. Tip the couscous back into the bowl, sprinkle with 1 cup of water and rub it again until the lumps break up, and add the carrots and cabbage to the broth.

8. Return the couscous to steam for 20 minutes, adding the pumpkin and zucchini to the broth at the same time, plus a hot chilli if you have one.

9. Check that the vegetables are tender and the meat comes off the bone, and taste the broth for salt.

10. Tip the couscous into the bowl and rub it with the 3 tbsp of ghee until the grains are coated and glossy.

11. Mound it on a large platter, make a well in the centre for the meat, arrange the vegetables around it, moisten with 2 ladles of broth, and serve the rest of the broth in a bowl on the side.

💡 2 more secrets for this dish in the Tahwa app (Plus).