Traditional Chaouen dish: Cuscus
INSTRUCTIONS:
COUSCOUS:
Vegetable couscous is a traditional dish of Moroccan and North African cuisine that is made from wheat semolina and different vegetables. In addition, it is accompanied by the broth from cooking the vegetables, caramelized onion, prunes, and almonds.
To make the vegetable couscous, I recommend having the ingredients and clean, peeled, and chopped vegetables ready. This will make the recipe process much easier. Similarly, it is advisable to soak the chickpeas to be able to cook them before starting to make the couscous and have them ready at the time of cooking. Canned chickpeas can be used already cooked, however, the flavor is not the same.
INGREDIENTS:
30 ml of extra virgin olive oil
3 tomatoes
2 onions
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of turmeric
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ tablespoon ginger powder
½ tablespoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon of saffron strands
3 carrots, peeled and cut in half
500 g peanut butternut squash in pieces
1 or 2 clean white zucchini cut in half
½ green bell pepper
½ yellow bell pepper
1 bunch of coriander
1 bunch of parsley
Salt
250 g of cooked chickpeas
12 prunes
50 g of peeled toasted almonds
400 g wheat semolina (couscous or couscous)
25 g of butter
To cook the couscous, start by frying it over medium-low heat with 30 ml of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tomato, peeled and diced, 1 onion, and all the spices: 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon of turmeric, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder, ½ tablespoon of powdered ginger, ½ tablespoon of powdered cumin and ½ teaspoon of saffron threads. When the sofrito has been cooked and the spices have released all their aromas, add the vegetables. First, the 3 carrots, peeled and halved, and the 500 g pumpkin in pieces. On top of the carrots and the pumpkin, add 1 or 2 clean white courgettes cut in half, ½ green pepper and ½ yellow pepper, 1 bunch of coriander, 1 bunch of parsley, and the 2 reserved tomatoes. In addition, 250 g of cooked chickpeas are added. Add salt to taste, cover with water and cook the whole, covered, for 30 minutes over medium heat. On the other hand, in a frying pan with a pinch of olive oil, fry the reserved onion. , cut into julienne. Add the 12 prunes and 50 g of peeled toasted almonds and cook over low heat until caramelized. Reserve. While the vegetables are cooking, prepare the wheat semolina (couscous), put the 400 g of wheat semolina (couscous) in a bowl, wash with plenty of water, drain and leave to dry for 5 minutes. Separate the grains from the semolina well with your hands and place them on top of the couscous pan.
When the broth with the vegetables is boiling, place the upper part of the couscous pan with the wheat semolina (couscous) and leave it uncovered for 10 minutes. When the steam begins to come out through the semolina, remove the upper part of the couscous pan where the semolina is and cover the pot again with the broth, which is left to cook over medium heat. wheat (couscous) in the source, add a little water with your hands, and loosen the grain so that there are no lumps. Put the semolina back on top of the couscous pan and it is over the vegetables for another 10 minutes, until steam comes out again through the wheat semolina. After the cooking time has elapsed, it is time to place the vegetable couscous on a bed of couscous and add the 25 g of butter by pinching. Mix everything with your hands until it is perfectly mixed and we are going to place the vegetables on the semolina, alternating to give it a good look. To finish, put the caramelized onion with the almonds and the prunes on the surface, and add a few tablespoons of vegetable broth with the chickpeas. You can put the broth aside in case someone wants to serve themselves more. It is a vegetarian delight!!!!
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Thanks for traveling with me, until next week!!
