Original name: Vegetable Cous Cous
Origin: Morocco
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 big onion, diced
2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon harissa (or 1 red bell pepper chopped finely)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
3 bay leaves
600 ml vegetable broth (you can mix vegetable broth in powder with boiling water)
900 gr sweet potatoes (orange yams) peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks (or normal potatoes)
4 medium size zucchini cut into 1 cm rounds
4 medium size carrots peeled and cut into 1 cm rounds
300 gr cabbage cut in small pieces
5-6 dried apricots cut in pieces
2 tablespoons of raisins
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander (or parsley)
300 gr chickpeas (already cooked)
450 gr couscous
600 ml boiling water + 1 teaspoon of salt (to prepare couscous)
Preparation
Heat olive oil in a large pot. Sautè the onion, garlic and ginger for several minutes until softened. Stir in the tomato paste, harissa, spices and 200 ml of vegetable broth and bring to boiling. Add sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, shredded cabbage, dried apricots, golden raisins and fresh coriander to the pot. Mix well. Add remaining 400ml vegetable broth to the pot, bring to boiling and then add the salt. Reduce heat and cover the pot. Simmer for about 45 minutes until all the vegetables are cooked. Add chickpeas to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes more. In the meanwhile, soak couscous with 600 ml boiled water, add 1 teaspoon of salt and mix well with a spoon. Cover it and set aside for 10 minutes. Put the prepared couscous onto a large plate. Top with the cooked vegetable stew.