Moroccan Recipe

Food tastes great all over the world! Everywhere I have been, I have found a favorite dish. In Australia, it was crocodile…in Uganda, it was goat…I haven’t found a favorite dish yet (it’s too soon to tell), but this is a dish that is certainly in the running.

I thought that I might share it with you, in case you want to experience a small piece of Morocco. This recipe was taken from the fabulous Peace Corps Morocco cookbook, which was put together by dozens of PCVs (past and present) and is written from a U.S. native perspective. So keep in mind that the Moroccan version of this dish would not involve a lot of measurements and cooktimes because the recipe would most likely come from family tradition (and not a cookbook). None the less, enjoy!

Cookware Needed:
Couscousierie
Sifter
Grader
Knives/cutting board

Recipe for Cous Cous
Prep time- approx. 3 hours
1 kg semoul gros (lg grain semolina)
1 kg beef, lamb or chicken (be sure to keep some bone and some fat)
salt, pepper, smen(fermented butter)
fresh coriander
3-4 med onions, coarsely chopped
4-6 med tomaoes, peeled and grated
1 kg carrots (or a little less), cut in half lenghtwise and cored
4-6 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
½ o ¾ kg pumpkin, peeled and cut into med chunks
handful chickpeas-soaked overnight and skinned

Chop meat into med to large pieces. Wash to clean away sm bone chiops and dry. Begin cooking in bottom of couscousiere with ¼ to ½ cup oil (don’t use olive oil). Add aprox. 2 tablespoons of salt and ½ to ¾ teaspoons of pepper, sm bunch of tied cilantro, onions, tomatoes. Stir and cover. In approx 3 min, add 3 litres of water-when water boils, add carrots and chickpeas. Sift and clean couscous grains. Work enough saltwater into it (with your hands) so that it begins to swell. Sift again and throw out any course pieces. Put into top portion of couscousiere and place on tops of meat and vegetables. Tie a clother around where sections fit together to block escape of steam. Steam for 30 to 40 min.

1st Fluffing: Work in water and fluff with hands until grains fall seartately. Return to steam for 45 min.

2nd Fluffing: Work salted water into couscous and 1-2 tablespoons oil and fluff until grains fall separate again. Return to steam for 20 min. Add zucchini and pumpkin and couple of whole peeled tomatoes on top. Add a few whole cloves.

3rd Fluffing: Add 2-3 tablespoons smen (fermented butter) and fluff again. When vegetables are done, take out cloves and pile couscous into cone shape on a large plate. Push down center of cone and arrange meat and vegetables putting the meat on the cous cous first (vegetables to follow). Place vegetables, in a decorative pattern, on top of couscous. Spoon some sauce over all and serve addition sauce on side.

*Eating Instructions*Now that you are finished, enjoy your cous cous with a spoon or with your hands. Most Moroccan dishes that I have experienced, especially cous cous, is eaten communely. So sit around the table, with the dish in the middle, and be sure to eat only the food in the triangle in front of you. When eating with your hand, use your right hand (only) to gently mash and toss small amounts of cous cous so that they are molded into balls (slightly larger than a golf ball). Toss it into your mouth and enjoy! If you make a mess and look ridiculous, then you are doing it right…it takes lots of time and practice to eat couscous quickly and properly (without making a mess), but enjoy the experience!