Moroccan Couscous

I'm sad to report that this recipe was a total dud.

I think it was a combination of a few things; not having any harissa, using butternut squash (which the recipe calls for, but in my opinion was very out of place), and using room-temperature chicken broth instead of boiling hot to pour over the couscous (which gave us crunchy, uncooked couscous as a result). Even though I normally LOVE couscous dishes, we unfortunately will not make this again.

Nonetheless, I still encourage you to try this recipe with your own twists and additions!! Who knows, with a little tweaking it could become something great.

*Original recipe from Sarah Copeland's The Newlywed Cookbook

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INGREDIENTS

- 1 yellow onion, cut into large pieces

- 4 plum tomatoes, halved

- 1/2 lbs carrots, cut in bite sized pieces, or 1 bunch of heirloom baby carrots, trimmed

- 1 bunch baby turnips (about 1 lb), trimmed, peeled and halved

- 1 medium zucchini

- 1/2 lb winter squash (such as butternut) peeled and cut into thin half moons

- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

- 2 tsp sweet paprika

- 1 cinnamon stick

- 1/2 tsp ground anise seeds (We also didn't use this)

- 2 tsp ground coriander

- 1 15 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

- 1/2 cup golden raisins

- Kosher salt

- Freshly ground black pepper

- 1 7 oz/200 g box plain wholemeal couscous

- 1 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth

- 1/2 cup warm water

- Handful of cilantro

- Harissa (I couldn't find harissa paste for the life of me... just the actual spice. So we didn't end up using it!)

DIRECTIONS

- Soak onion, tomatoes, carrots, turnips, zucchini and squash in cold water while you set up and measure your remaining ingredients (this helps the veggies keep their shape as they cook)

- Hear 3 tbsp of the olive oil in a large straight-side frying pan over medium heat

- Add the onion, stir to combine and cook to soften, about 5 minutes

- Add the paprika and stir to coat the onion pieces

- Add half of the tomatoes, carrots and turnips and cook to soften, about 10 minutes

- Add the zucchini, 2 cups of water, the cinnamon stick, anise and coriander and bring to a simmer

- Add the squash and combine cooking until all the vegetables are just tender but still holding their shape, about 6 minutes

- Stir the chickpeas and raisins in, until the raisins plump and the chickpeas are just warmed through, about 2 minutes

- Season with salt and pepper

- Put the couscous in a medium bowl and ladle over 1 cup of the vegetable broth (make sure it is HOT! The recipe doesn't say this.. but if you use room temp. broth your couscous will not cook) and 1/2 cup warm water

- Cover the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to steam for 5 minutes

- Remove the plastic wrap, fluff with a fork and season with salt and olive oil

- Serve couscous in deep bowls heaped with steaming vegetables, a few cilantro leaves and harissa on the side