Recipe for Moroccan couscous

Is it Friday? Well then, it's Couscous day :-) Here you get the recipe for the traditional Moroccan national dish, which is enjoyed in most families in Morocco every Friday. It really is a delicious and flavorful dish and it's worth all the work. You must calculate approx. 3 hours to make this couscous.

It is optional if you want to serve merguez sausages. I like the salty taste that the lamb sausages give to the couscous,

Recipe for the traditional Moroccan couscous

4-6 people

Preparation time: 2-3 hours

The stew (the sauce, the meat and the vegetables)

Ingredients

3 onions

5 slices of osso bucco or other cut - preferably with bones to add flavor

4-6 merguez sausages (lamb sausages)

5 cloves of garlic

a large bunch of broad-leaf parsley

1 large bunch of coriander

6 plum tomatoes

2 vegetable bouillon cubes + saffron stirred into 1 liter of boiling water

1 tablespoon tomato concentrate

Spices: Cumin, ras el hanout, fresh ginger or powdered ginger, pepper, ground coriander, saffron, turmeric

1 sweet potato

1 tin of chickpeas

1 small Hokkaido pumpkin 

2 squash

1/2 head of scallion

6 carrots

2 general peppers or 5 small baby peppers

Course of action

Start by taking the meat out of the fridge half an hour before you start cooking, so that the meat is not ice cold. 

Fry the onion and garlic until they become shiny in the pan and remove them. Fry the meat, dab it with paper towel and salt it. Fry a little at a time and when everything is lightly browned, put it back in the pan. Add 1 liter of boiling water mixed with two vegetable bouillon cubes and saffron soaked in, 1 tablespoon of tomato concentrate, spices and the fresh herbs. Put the lid on and let the meat simmer for 1.5-2 hours until the meat is tender.

Prepare vegetables.

All vegetables are washed and cut into very coarse pieces. 

1. Cut the sweet potato into a maximum of 4 pieces. 
2. Carrots can be put in whole if they are small, otherwise they are cut lengthwise. 
3. Squash is cut lengthwise and then divided into 2. 
4. The tip bowl is cut into two pieces.
5. Hokkaido pumpkin is washed thoroughly and cut into large pieces. The peel is kept on.
6. At the same time as couscous point 12: Add chickpeas, carrots, sweet potato, scallions and pumpkin and cook for approx. half an hour - add extra water and taste the sauce with extra spices, salt and a little chili paste if you want the sauce a little stronger. You can also add a little sugar to add some sweetness.  
7. The last 10-15 min. add squash and bell pepper. 

Couscous 

Preparation time: Approx. 1 hour-1.5 hours for 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

500 grams of couscous

Cold water for cleaning the couscous

Approx. 200 ml. cold water for the second stage of couscous. 

Course of action: 

Stage 1:

1. Pour 500 g of couscous into a large bowl dish
2. Pour cold water over to clean the couscous. 
3. After straining the water from the couscous and returning the couscous to the couscous dish. 
4. Leave it to dry for approx. 10 minutes
5. Divide the couscous with your fingers (rub the couscous between your fingers to remove lumps).
6. Now the top of the couscous pot must be used: Grease the couscous strainer with olive oil so that the couscous does not stick.
7. Pour the couscous into the sieve from the couscous pot and place it on top of the simmering pot. (If your couscous pot is not completely sealed, you can advantageously tie a tight cloth around the pot closure. You can also use aluminum foil along the edge so that it closes tightly.)
8. When the steam shows through the couscous, wait approx. 2 min and remove the strainer.

Stage 2:

1. Pour the couscous into the dish and pour 200 ml. cold water over the couscous. 
2. Let it soak until the couscous has absorbed all the water. 
3. Stir the couscous lightly with a ladle and spread the couscous with your fingers as in point 5 in stage 1. Feel free to take a little longer on this process. 
4. Put the couscous back in the strainer and place it again over the steaming pan (here you can suitably add sweet potato, chickpeas and possibly carrots which take a little longer to be cooked)
5. When you can see steam rising through the couscous, wait 2 minutes and remove the strainer from the pan. 

Stage 3: 

1. Salt with 2-3 teaspoons of salt and a tablespoon. olive oil.
2. Pour the couscous into the dish and stir with a ladle.
3. When the couscous has cooled, spread it again with your fingers to prevent lumps.
4. Pour the couscous back into the colander and place the couscous over the steaming pan for the last time. When the steam is again visible through the couscous, wait 2 minutes and remove the strainer. 

Stage 4:

1. Pour the couscous into the dish and stir with the ladle.
2. When the couscous is less warm, you can use your fingers for the last time to separate the couscous grains. Now you should be able to feel that the couscous has an airy, light and delicious consistency. Not too wet, not too dry. 
3. Let it stand and reheat if necessary. briefly in the microwave if it has time to cool completely before serving.

Caramelized onions

Preparation time: 1-1.5 hours

Ingredients

5 onions

3 tbsp. orange blossom water

A large handful of yellow raisins

1-2 tbsp. Brown sugar

Saffron to taste

Cinnamon to taste

Course of action

1. Soak the raisins in lukewarm water. 
2. Fry the onions on a low heat until they are caramelised.
3. Add saffron, cinnamon, orange blossom water and brown sugar. 
4. Let it all boil until it is one delicious creamy mass.