Couscous Royale
The festive Moroccan-Maghreb couscous: fluffy semolina topped with merguez sausages, lamb shoulder, chicken, and a vegetable-rich broth (carrots, courgette, turnips, chickpeas) with harissa on the side. The full Sunday-lunch version of North African couscous; a single platter feeds a crowd.
Overview
Lamb and chicken poach slowly in a saffron-tomato broth with chunks of root vegetables and chickpeas. Merguez sausages grill or fry separately. Couscous steams (or is rehydrated quickly with hot broth and butter). Everything plates separately on a vast platter; diners build their own bowls and slick with harissa.
Ingredients
Broth and meat
- 600 g lamb shoulder (cut into 4 cm cubes)
- 600 g chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions (sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 1 thumb fresh ginger (grated)
- 1 large pinch saffron threads
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ras el hanout
- 2 tablespoons tomato purée
- 800 g tinned chopped tomatoes (2 tins)
- 1 ½ litres chicken stock
- 4 carrots (peeled, halved lengthways)
- 2 turnips (peeled, quartered)
- 2 courgettes (cut into thick chunks)
- 200 g tinned chickpeas (drained)
- A small bunch of coriander (chopped)
- salt
- pepper
Merguez
- 8 merguez sausages
Couscous
- 500 g couscous
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 600 ml water (just-boiled)
To serve
- 4 tablespoons Harissa
- Lemon wedges
Method
Stage 1 - Brown the meat
- Heat the oil in a large heavy pot.
- Brown the lamb in batches; set aside.
- Brown the chicken; set aside.
Stage 2 - Build the broth
- Cook the onions in the same pot for 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, ginger, saffron, turmeric, cumin and ras el hanout; cook 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomato purée and tomatoes.
- Return the lamb; pour in the stock; season.
- Simmer covered for 1 hour.
Stage 3 - Add chicken and vegetables
- Add the chicken, carrots and turnips.
- Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
- Add the courgette chunks and chickpeas; simmer 20 more minutes.
Stage 4 - Cook the couscous
- Place the couscous in a large bowl with the salt.
- Pour over the boiling water; immediately cover with cling film.
- Leave 8 minutes; uncover, fork through, and stir in the butter.
Stage 5 - Cook the merguez
- Pan-fry or grill the merguez sausages for 8-10 minutes until cooked through and crisp at the edges.
Stage 6 - Plate
- Mound the couscous on a large platter.
- Arrange the meats and vegetables on top, drawing them out from the broth.
- Spoon some broth over to moisten.
- Place a small bowl of harissa whisked with a ladle of broth on the side; lemon wedges alongside.
- Pass the rest of the broth in a jug for ladling.
Notes
- Saffron and ras el hanout together: Different but complementary. The saffron is the colour and floral note; the ras el hanout is the warm complexity.
- Merguez separately: Cooked in the broth they bleed and turn it greasy. Grill or fry on the side.
- Harissa whisked with broth: Diluting harissa in a ladle of broth makes it more spoonable on the plate.
Storage
- Improves overnight. Components keep 3-4 days refrigerated separately.
- Cooked couscous keeps 2 days; loosen with a splash of water and a knob of butter when reheating.
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