Couscous Tunisien — Print Recipe

Fluffy steamed couscous crowned with tender lamb, chickpeas, and a medley of seasonal vegetables bathed in a fragrant tomato-harissa broth.

Ingredients

1 Soak chickpeas overnight, drain. Brown lamb in olive oil with onion, add tomato paste, harissa, coriander, and caraway seeds.
2 Cover lamb with water, add chickpeas, bring to a boil, then simmer covered for one hour until lamb is almost tender.
3 Add carrots, turnips, and potatoes to the broth. Cook twenty minutes, then add zucchini for the final ten minutes.
4 Steam couscous in a couscoussier above the broth, fluffing twice with oil and water during thirty minutes of steaming.
5 Mound couscous on a deep platter, arrange lamb and vegetables on top, and ladle broth generously over everything.
6 Serve with extra harissa on the side and a bowl of broth for guests to add more moisture as they wish.

Did You Know?

Tunisian families consider Friday couscous sacred, and missing it is almost as serious as missing a holiday meal.