Couscous (Vegetable Couscous)

Ingredients

• Couscous
• Couscous2 cups
• Hot water · or vegetable stock2 cups
• Olive oil1 tbsp
• Butter · optional1 tbsp
• Salt0.5 tsp
• Vegetable stew
• Onion1
• Carrots2
• Zucchini1
• Turnip · or radish1
• Squash200 g
• Chickpeas · cooked/canned1 cup
• Tomatoes · or canned2
• Minced garlic3 cloves
• Olive oil2 tbsp
• Spices
• Cumin1 tsp
• Paprika1 tsp
• Turmeric0.5 tsp
• Cinnamon0.5 tsp
• Ginger · ground0.5 tsp
• Salt & pepper · to taste
• Cilantro & parsley · to finish

Steps

1. Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil, then add the cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, and ginger to bloom the spices.

   ⏲ 3 min

2. Add the tomatoes and 3 cups water (or stock) and bring to a boil.

   ⏲ 3 min

3. Add firm vegetables like carrot and turnip first, then the zucchini, squash, and chickpeas, and simmer until tender.

   ⏲ 25 min

4. Put the couscous in a bowl with salt and olive oil, pour over an equal amount of hot water/stock, cover, and steam 5 minutes.

   ⏲ 5 min

5. Fluff the couscous with a fork and stir in the butter until light.

   ⏲ 1 min

6. Mound the couscous on a platter, arrange the vegetables around it, and ladle over the broth.

   ⏲ 2 min

7. Scatter with cilantro and parsley and serve.

Tips & Variations

The basics behind this dish

• Browning and the Maillard ReactionMeat fails to brown for one of three reasons: it is wet, the pan is cool, or you put too much in at once. Plus how the brown film stuck to the pan becomes your sauce.
• Cooking Meat: Temperature, Resting, and Cutting Against the GrainDoneness is a core temperature, not a number of minutes. What resting actually does, how to handle a thick cut, and why the direction you slice changes the texture.
• Knife Skills: Grip, Cuts, and Why Size MattersHow you hold the knife matters more than how fast you cut. The pinch grip, the claw hand, and why uniform size is a cooking decision rather than a cosmetic one.