I woke up a morning and had this visceral need to eat a Couscous. It’s about the couscous but also the meat, the mix of spices and vegetables. Something to me that smells like home cooking and fills your stomach and your heart with this unforgettable comforting warmth.

I know in America when you talk about Couscous people look at you and asks themselves: “what’s so great about those grains?”

When I talk about Couscous, I talk not only about the grain, but the vegetable stew and meats that comes with it. In France we would call it a Couscous Royal when served with 3 types of meat (including Merguez)

The best Couscous I ever had was at a friends house few years ago, when I was still living in Paris. His parents were Moroccans and going to his house was always a treat. Of course, very similar to an Italian mother, his mother would always feed you whatever was cooking on the stove and if you were lucky enough you would be there for her famous Couscous.

I had to make Couscous, it can’t be that complicated!

I started remembering the smell, the texture of this wonderful dish and started writing down a list of ingredients for my shopping list.

Ingredients:

4 stalks of celery

3 carrots

1 onion

1 eggplant

2 turnips

1 green bell pepper

5 ripe tomatoes

1 can of chick peas (fresh one are better but will require more cooking time)

Parsley

Zucchini

Garlic

Raisins

Chicken broth

Harissa

3 Chicken legs (separate drumstick from thigh)

4 bone in lamb cutlets

I would use merguez for this dish but have lost my sausage maker to a move, so I left them out for this time. I make merguez with a mix of 1/2 lamb, 1/2 beef, paprika, harissa, sumac, garlic and shallots.

As far as the spice, the best would be to find Ras El Hanout which is a combination of 20-30 different spices used a lot in Northern African cooking. There are about as many different Ras El Hanout in Maghreb than cheeses in France. I couldn’t find any here in San Francisco, so I made my own blend of spices and recommend you do the same. It’s about mixing what you like and make sure it’s to your taste.

My spices (all in powder form or use a spice blender):

Cinnamon

Clove

Allspices

Caraway

Ginger

Cardamom

Nutmeg

Paprika

Turmeric

Saffron

Coriander

Cayenne Pepper

Sumac

and of course salt and pepper

I started by searing all my meat in my favorite stew pot with a bit of olive oil and then set them aside.

In the same pot I sauteed my onions thickly sliced and added the spices, let them bloom for a minute and deglaze the pan with chicken stock (you can use lamb stock too, I had some home-made chicken stock available, that’s what I used)

Then return the meat to the pot and add all your ingredients, except the Zucchini and the eggplant that I will add only at the end so they don’t get too moochy. Cover and let seamer until the meat is really tender and almost fall of the bone.

Then add your zucchini and eggplant, finish to cook for about 15 minutes.

Note: I cut my vegetables in 2” length, it looks better on the plate. As far as the spiciness of the dish, I make it pretty mild and serve it with a side of Harissa, letting my guest spicy it to their taste. I like it “I am crying it’s so hot”

All I could find in San Francisco is pre-cooked Couscous, which  I don’t like because the grain really stick together a lot. I would soak the Couscous in chicken stock and then rub the grain in my hand with some oil or butter to separate and finish them by steaming them until nice and fluff.
Here I just cooked the Pre-cooked couscous in a bit of chicken stock.

Don’t be scared by the list of ingredients, this is not complicated dish to make and it’s so good. If you are looking for comfort food this is the best!

Tell me, when is the last time you said to your friends “come over I am making Moroccan style Couscous?”

Bon Appétit !